The European Parliament is set to debate Hungary’s new legislative package, which includes amendments to the law on the right of assembly—labelled by progressives as a ‘Pride ban’—as well as stricter regulations on foreign-funded NGOs and media outlets. However, as democratic as it is, the EP has ‘forgotten’ to invite Hungary to participate in or respond during the debate.
Budapest witnessed rare protests in recent days, as demonstrators rallied against what they describe as a ‘Pride-ban’—an amendment to the law on the right of assembly, which imposes stricter conditions on mass events that violate the child protection law. Among the speakers was the infamous German MEP Daniel Freund, who effectively admitted that Brussels has been working for years to oust Viktor Orbán’s government, with the current demonstrations being no exception.
US Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Robert Palladino appears determined to restore US–Hungary relations following the turbulent tenure of his predecessor, David Pressman. The senior American diplomat began the week with high-level bilateral meetings—first with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, followed by political director to the Hungarian Prime Minister Balázs Orbán.
Appointed last week, interim Chargé d’Affaires Robert Palladino was received by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Levente Magyar on Tuesday to discuss the future of Hungary–US relations. The senior US diplomat also met with American and Hungarian business leaders, emphasizing the promising prospects for economic partnership.
After Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the Trump administration is cancelling more than 80 per cent of USAID programmes, the agency’s role as the funder of a vast globalist foreign influence network has effectively come to an end. However, the same forces are now regrouping in Brussels—and Hungary will be ready to confront them.
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó stated that the Trump administration is open to reviewing and repealing the sanctions and retaliatory measures imposed on Hungary by former US president Joe Biden. In their first in-person meeting, Szijjártó and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also discussed strategic cooperation in the energy and defence sectors.
Bryan Lieb, who is in contention to become the next US Ambassador to Hungary, has met with a number of high-ranking figures in the Hungarian administration during his most recent visit to Budapest, including State Secretaries Tristan Azbej and Zoltán Kovács, as well as Minister Tibor Navracsics.
Western European leaders were quick to rally behind Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Donald Trump called him a dictator. However, those same leaders remained completely silent when, almost exactly one year ago, former US President Joe Biden accused Viktor Orbán of building a dictatorship in Hungary
Elon Musk reacted to reports that Hungarian opposition media outlets were outraged over Trump’s decision to halt US foreign assistance, cutting off substantial grants previously provided by USAID and the US Embassy in Budapest. Sharing Balázs Orbán’s post, the US billionaire pointed out that these outlets were never truly independent to begin with.
Donald Trump took an unexpected step on Monday by ordering dozens of senior officials at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to go on administrative leave. USAID has a long history of foreign interference under the pretext of providing aid, including significant grants to Hungarian anti-government media and government-critical NGOs.
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.
