Liberal-progressive Renew Europe has leapt to the defence of Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony after Hungarian prosecutors charged him over organizing the banned 2025 Pride march. Framing the case as a political attack on ‘European values’, Renew leaders accused Budapest of authoritarianism—escalating tensions just weeks before Hungary’s parliamentary election.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has fiercely rejected a POLITICO Brussels report claiming he questioned Donald Trump’s mental health during last week’s EU summit, calling the story a fabrication built on anonymous leaks. Fico said he made no such remarks, accused the outlet of spreading deliberate lies, and warned of a broader effort to discredit leaders pursuing independent foreign policies.
Donald Trump’s Board of Peace is not merely a new diplomatic forum, but a deliberate attempt to replace the United Nations’ paralysed conflict-resolution role. Designed to bypass vetoes and institutional capture, the initiative could weaken China’s leverage at the UN and drive Moscow away from Beijing.
On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, US Chargé d’Affaires Caroline Savage joined an immersive augmented-reality experience that transforms Budapest’s former Jewish ghetto into a living historical space. The project, If These Streets Could Talk, uses cutting-edge technology to place visitors inside real stories from the Second World War—an approach Savage described as ‘extremely powerful’.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen faces her fourth no-confidence vote in six months on Thursday, after the right-wing Patriots for Europe tabled a new motion of censure. The vote follows a major setback for von der Leyen and the EPP, as the European Parliament sent the EU–Mercosur deal to the Court of Justice for legal review.
‘Indeed, if anything—as the Hungarian model demonstrates—a healthy sense of Christian nationalism and identity turns out to be protective of Jewish human rights and dignity, certainly in comparison with those Western environments shaped by secular liberalism.’
Kyiv has summoned Hungary’s ambassador in protest at Budapest’s rejection of further EU financial assistance to Ukraine, prompting a sharp response from Péter Szijjártó. The foreign minister said Hungary will not help finance Ukraine ‘over the next decade’, warning against ‘squandering the future of our youth’ and accusing Ukraine of interfering in Hungary’s internal affairs.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó warned that Budapest would not tolerate foreign interference in its upcoming parliamentary elections, insisting that EU ambassadors refrain from commenting on the vote or its outcome. He added that diplomats who ignore this demand could lose access to Hungary’s senior officials.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said Prague should follow examples set by the United States, Hungary and Poland, warned against further guaranteed loans to Ukraine, and argued for reviving regional alliances in an interview with Mandiner.
Portugal’s presidential election is headed for a run-off between right-wing, anti-immigration Chega leader André Ventura and socialist António José Seguro after the first round delivered a surprise Seguro lead with around 30 per cent, while Ventura secured 24.46 per cent with more than 93 per cent of votes counted.