Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel dismissed claims that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is a Russian ‘Trojan horse’ in the EU, calling the accusations ‘nonsense’ and ‘absurd’ in an interview with opposition channel Partizán. She stressed Orbán has always pursued Hungary’s interests, often clashing with Brussels but also seeking compromise.
The right-wing ANO party, led by Former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, won by far the most seats (80) and the largest share of the popular vote (34.5 per cent) in the Czech parliamentary election held this weekend. However, they still need to find coalition partners to form a government. During his first term in office, PM Babiš had a close relationship with PM Viktor Orbán of Hungary.
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Viktor Orbán as a leader defending national interests in Europe, declaring that if such forces grow stronger, ‘Europe will be reborn.’ Speaking at the Valdai Club in Sochi, he also attacked the EU’s migration policies, while boasting that Russian forces hold the strategic initiative in Ukraine.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán reiterated that Hungarians want to stay out of the war and reject Ukraine’s EU membership. Following the EU summit in Copenhagen, he launched a signature drive to reinforce public opposition to Brussels’ war strategy.
Hungary cannot be circumvented with legal manoeuvres to open Ukraine’s EU accession process, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in Copenhagen ahead of an informal EU summit, insisting any enlargement must follow the same rules and warning that fast-tracking Kyiv risks drawing the EU into war and draining funds.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland called the Russo–Ukrainian war ‘our war’ at the Warsaw Security Forum, prompting a sharp rebuke from his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán, who warned that neither Hungary nor the EU is at war with Russia and accused Tusk of endangering European lives.
EU leaders will meet in Copenhagen on Wednesday for an informal European Council meeting, testing how far Brussels is willing to go to sideline Viktor Orbán. Council President António Costa is lobbying to bypass Hungary’s veto on Ukraine’s accession talks and on the use of frozen Russian assets—an approach Budapest says violates treaties and destroys institutional balance.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Hungary of flying reconnaissance drones across the border, warning Budapest it was engaging in a ‘dangerous’ game. Hungary firmly rejected the claim, calling it fabricated and politically motivated. The row adds to a long list of clashes between the two uneasy neighbours.
Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán and Slovak PM Robert Fico marked the 130th anniversary of the Mária Valéria Bridge in Esztergom, stressing Central European unity, warning against Brussels’s war agenda, and calling for peace over destabilization.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán dismissed allegations of paedophilia linked to a correctional facility in Szőlő Street as a foreign-backed disinformation campaign, while warning of legal consequences and defending his government’s policies on energy, taxes, and family support.