Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini received the Hunyadi János Award from the Foundation for a Civic Hungary (PMA) in 2025. The honour, established in 2023 by the foundation of Hungary’s governing party Fidesz, was presented by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Wednesday in Brussels.
In a post on X, Orbán praised Salvini for his unwavering defence of Europe. ‘In his own country, the Left sought to throw him in prison for this noble deed, but we know he is a hero,’ he wrote, referring to the Italian prosecutors’ request in September 2024 for a six-year prison sentence against Salvini. The deputy prime minister had faced charges of kidnapping for preventing over 100 migrants from disembarking a vessel he had blocked at sea for nearly three weeks in 2019, as part of his policy to curb illegal migration. Salvini was acquitted in December 2024. ‘While globalists push to erase our borders, we will continue to resist the tide of illegal migration,’ Orbán added.
In his speech at the ceremony, the Hungarian prime minister stressed that ‘our common goal’ is to restore the sovereignty of Europe’s nations. He argued that patriotic forces must reclaim the rights that have been ‘illegally confiscated’ from nation-states in recent years. Orbán further declared that ‘agents of the Soros network’ must be expelled from the European Commission and that corrupt lobbyists should be removed from the European Parliament. ‘The European Union cannot be a financial network aimed at weakening national governments,’ he asserted.
PMA established the award in 2023 to recognize outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions to European freedom and independence, the cooperation of nations, and the protection of values that define European identity—rooted in Greco–Roman cultural traditions and the Christian moral framework. The award honours individuals whose work boldly represents the sovereigntist aspirations of equal national communities and who are influential figures in right-wing and conservative circles. The Hunyadi János Award comprises a plaque, a certificate, and a financial prize of €20,000.
After receiving the award, Salvini expressed his gratitude to Orbán on X, stating that Europe should be more concerned about illegal migration than rearmament. ‘The biggest threat is fanaticism, terrorism, and Islamic radicalism,’ he wrote. ‘We will continue our fight for a strong, free, and safe Europe,’ he concluded.
In 2024 the prize was awarded to Ryszard Antoni Legutko, a Member of the European Parliament for Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) party and a professor of philosophy. At the ceremony, Orbán praised Legutko’s vigilance in exposing the dangers of progressive liberalism, warning against its totalitarian tendencies. As the 2024 award ceremony took place just months before the European elections, Orbán’s speech was heavily focused on the political stakes, portraying a growing sovereigntist movement across Europe, strengthened by newfound solidarity among Central European states and support from other regions.
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