Brussels is considering admitting Ukraine to the European Union as early as 2027, before accession criteria are met, according to Századvég, whose latest survey finds that three quarters of EU citizens oppose the initiative.
Hungary’s government has announced the launch of a national petition campaign urging citizens to reject EU plans to fund the war in Ukraine, Ukraine’s long-term operation and higher energy costs linked to the conflict.
The European Parliament’s first 2026 plenary session saw debates on the fourth motion of censure of the Commission, the Mercosur trade deal, and Hungary’s SAFE defence fund. Von der Leyen skipped the censure debate, Mercosur was referred to the Court of Justice, and Hungary’s access to SAFE funds faces opposition over alleged ‘corruption’.
Hungary has joined Donald Trump’s newly unveiled Board of Peace as a founding member in Davos, with Viktor Orbán warning that war brings inflation, sanctions, high energy prices, and economic decline. Balázs Orbán hailed the platform as ‘one of the first institution of the new world order,’ while European powers such as France and the United Kingdom refused to join the new conflict resolution forum.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Hungary will not approve the EU Mercosur trade agreement as long as a national government is in power, accusing Brussels of deceiving farmers and bypassing national parliaments.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has received an invitation from US President Donald Trump to join the Gaza Peace Council, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said, while reaffirming Hungary’s rejection of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.
‘In the case of Ukraine and Spain, it also produces circumstantial parallels that obscure the unbridgeable gap between the very natures of the two conflicts, conflating the ideological antagonisms of the 1930s at their most nationally internecine with a globalized, technological war for territory. Far from far-sighted, the mantra that Europe should re-learn forgotten lessons or resign itself to perish here becomes dangerously myopic.’
German MEP from the left-wing BSW Fabio De Masi sued the European Commission over its lack of transparency on arms-industry contacts. After months of incomplete replies, he argues the Commission violated EU treaties and the Parliament’s oversight rights—raising fears of a Pfizergate-like scandal amid the EU’s multibillion-euro defence spending.
‘Broadly speaking, Hungary rejects the two main driving forces behind the anti-Israel sentiment in Europe: Wokeism and mass migration. But unlike other countries in Europe that share the same views on these topics, Hungary’s strong pro-Israel stance organically flows from this rejection, and also constitutes an integral part of its conservative vision for the future realignment of the European right.’
‘While a successful and prosperous EU is in the best interest of Budapest, unfortunately nothing illustrates what Europe has become in 2025 better than the National Security Strategy of the United States of America, which spoke of the “prospect of [Europe’s] civilizational erasure”.’