‘Rather than embracing theoretical frameworks like the concept of the EU as a “liberal empire”, what is now needed is a far more pragmatic approach—one that focuses on enhancing economic competitiveness and developing strategies aimed at strengthening the role of the EU in the global economy.’
‘Although the Commission’s aim is for the new fund to be the flagship for strengthening European industry, the division among Member States clearly shows that competitiveness is now not just an economic issue, but also a political one.’
‘Brussels officials will insist the meeting was about trade. True, Hungary left Washington with a US exemption allowing it to keep buying Russian oil despite new energy sanctions. But the more consequential development was political,’ Professor Frank Füredi of MCC Brussels wrote in his piece for Euractiv.
Under what conditions can the Ukrainian war end? Can there be a military confrontation between the US and China over Taiwan? What could be the future of the Gaza Strip? We asked for an analysis from the renowned scholar of international relations on the three major geopolitical conflict areas: the Ukrainian war, the Middle East, and the Pacific Region conflict.
Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies have launched a sweeping investigation into a $100 million kickback scheme tied to the state energy sector and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s inner circle. The scandal, centred on businessman Timur Mindich, comes as the EU considers whether to open membership talks with Kyiv.
‘Orbán’s multi-vector commercial policy, which balances energy cooperation with Russia, selective investment from China, and strategic alignment with Washington, allows Hungary to act as a stabilizing bridge between great powers.’
‘Spain’s cultural diplomacy in Chengdú and Beijing may win headlines, but its deeper strength lies in its ties to the Ibero-American world.’
‘The Trump administration has made it clear that there will be no case closed in Gaza without the complete disarmament of Hamas. Shortly after the agreement came into effect, the President made a plain threat to the Gaza-based terror group: “If they don’t disarm, we will disarm them and it will happen quickly and perhaps violently.”’
Viktor Orbán’s meeting with Donald Trump symbolized a deeper struggle for the soul of Western civilization. With Washington now backing Europe’s sovereignist governments, Hungary’s 2026 election has become more than a political contest—it is a referendum on whether Christianity, family, and nation can survive the globalist onslaught.
Democrats have won big in Virginia and New Jersey, and the government shutdown, thank God, is on track to end after a record 41 days. Here are a few important takeaways from the last few eventful weeks in American politics.
‘By being responsive to changes at the system level, multilateralism can contribute to maintaining peace during the shifts in the balance of power that we are currently living through. Europe’s peoples would benefit from it, as would their governments’ reputation and diplomatic standing in the world.’
US President Donald Trump approved a full sanctions exemption for Hungary on Russian oil and gas imports during his White House meeting with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, in what both sides called a new era of US–Hungarian cooperation. The leaders secured multimillion-dollar deals on nuclear energy, defence, and space technology.
The liberal establishment appears to be turning its back on French President Emmanuel Macron. As his approval ratings collapse and his mandate nears its end, even former allies like his mentor, Alain Minc, have joined the chorus of critics, accusing him of ‘narcissism’ and ‘imperilling French institutions’ while leaving France in deep political instability.
‘For us, it is a matter of life and death,’ Viktor Orbán said on his way to meet Donald Trump. Szabolcs Pásztor of the Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation pointed out that few European leaders enjoy such personal rapport with Trump, calling the visit ‘highly significant’ and predicting ‘major agreements’ between the two countries.
‘The Commission considered Ukraine’s support to be more important than the protests at the national and sectoral level in the Member States and therefore pushed through the amendment to the trade agreement…’
‘According to the European Commission, Ukraine has made significant progress on its enlargement path, so much so that it has already met the conditions to open clusters on fundamentals, external relations, and the internal market…Berlaymont does not rule out the feasibility of Ukraine’s accession by 2028.’
A new analysis from the Center for Fundamental Rights claims the governing Fidesz–KDNP coalition maintained a strong lead in October, while the TISZA Party continued to struggle amid controversies over data leaks, policy proposals, and public communications.
Democrats outperformed polling in both New Jersey and Virginia: Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger are now the governor-elects in the two states, respectively, both winning by wide margins. Even scandal-ridden Jay Jones won his race for Attorney General for Virginia by a decent amount. What does this mean for President Trump and the Republicans?
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is set to meet President Donald Trump in Washington on 7 November, with energy cooperation expected to dominate the talks. According to Index, the two governments have worked for months on a deal involving American nuclear technology and gas exports that could fundamentally reshape Hungary’s energy strategy.
‘Trump’s EO perhaps instinctively draws from the historical lesson: that love of one’s country is not a limitation of freedom—it is a precondition of a nation’s survival.’
Hungary expects a broad agenda at the upcoming Washington meeting between Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and US President Donald Trump, including the war in Ukraine and future cooperation in defence, energy, and the economy, according to Orbán’s political director.
‘Germany faces a stark choice between continued strategic drift and fundamental transformation. The half-measures of constrained realism will prove no more effective than the delusions of values-based idealism when confronted with determined opposition…Only genuine sovereign realism…offers the possibility of effective foreign policy in the age of great power competition.’
The European Commission is considering legal action against Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia for refusing to lift bans on Ukrainian agricultural imports. Beyond its legal implications, such a move could once again unite the Visegrád countries against what they perceive as Brussels’ disregard for farmers’ livelihoods and national economic sovereignty.
Liberal-centrist D66 might have narrowly won the Dutch elections ahead of Geert Wilders’ PVV, with 16.9 per cent to 16.7. Both parties are projected to win 26 seats, signalling a major loss for PVV. The outcome illustrates how right-wing populists across Europe often confront structural barriers and mainstream pushback preventing genuine policy transformation on critical issues such as mass migration.
‘The fact of the matter is that the apocalyptic scenario Democrats warned of in case Donald Trump was re-elected never materialized. After some market turmoil caused by President Trump’s tariff frenzy in the spring, things smoothed out real quick. The Democrats found themselves in desperate need to manufacture a crisis just to get the voters’ attention.’
Marcin Tulicki’s new documentary on the takeover of Polish state media under Donald Tusk premiered in Budapest on Monday. During the panel discussion that followed, Gergely Gulyás criticized the European Commission’s approach to rule of law issues, while Zbigniew Ziobro claimed that Tusk’s government operates ‘with EU approval’ despite undermining judicial independence.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is set to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington next week, amid debates over new US sanctions on Russian oil. The visit follows Italian newspaper La Repubblica’s claim that Orbán called Trump’s decision a ‘mistake’—a claim disproven after the full recording was released, showing he made no such criticism and spoke only about Hungary’s energy needs.
‘“Religious Zionism”…keeps unsettling end-of-history pieties about confining faith and observance to the margins of the public square and smoothing out the nation state’s ethno-religious edges. Yet instead of cool-headed assessments precisely when it holds the keys to governability…the rise of this national-religious bloc of parties is often met by incurious moral hysteria.’
‘Spain, France, and the UK have inherited not only migrants from their former colonies but also the cultural consequences of how those empires were built.’
The planned Trump–Putin summit in Budapest has exposed how modern diplomacy is waged through information warfare. Leaks, denials, and anonymous sources have flooded the media, as Brussels and Kyiv intensify efforts to block the meeting—fearing that a deal might emerge outside their control.