Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is currently in Türkiye, where he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. One of Orbán’s closest allies in the region, Erdoğan is facing unrest on a scale not seen in years following the arrest of opposition leader Ekrem İmamoğlu on charges of corruption and alleged links to terrorism.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán vetoed a joint conclusion on Ukraine during Thursday’s EU summit, for the second time in March. He stated that he will continue to block every EU position on Ukraine until the results of Hungary’s public vote on Kyiv’s EU membership are known.
Corruption appears to be among the ‘common European values’ often touted by mainstream parties in the European Parliament as yet another probe shakes the EU’s legislative institution. Initial reports suggest that around 15 former and current MEPs may be involved in a bribery case linked to Chinese telecom giant Huawei.
‘According to von der Leyen: “The question is no longer whether Europe’s security is threatened in a very real way. Or whether Europe should shoulder more of the responsibility for its own security,” but rather: “Is Europe prepared to act as decisively as the situation dictates? And is Europe ready and able to act with the speed and ambition that is needed?”’
Emmanuel Macron must envy Viktor Orbán for this: a video has gone viral showing a French woman approaching and praising the Hungarian prime minister on the streets of Paris. One cannot help but recall another iconic video—Macron being slapped by a member of the public in the summer of 2021.
‘Europe is marching itself off a cliff. Hungary must avoid marching with them,’ political director to the Hungarian prime minister Balázs Orbán said in response to French President Emmanuel Macron’s speech on Wednesday. As EU leaders gather in Brussels today, pro-war leaders have doubled down on their rhetoric against peace, threatening to undermine fragile peace talks.
Just an hour ago, independent candidate Călin Georgescu, who had won the first round of the presidential elections in Romania, which was subsequently suspended by the Romanian Constitutional Court without any evidence, was arrested without prior notice.
‘As the war in Ukraine enters its fourth year, the world faces an entirely new reality. A reality where Russia and Putin are no longer portrayed as the greatest evil. A reality where diplomacy is once again regarded as the primary tool for resolving disputes between nations. A reality where the end of the conflict could be within arm’s reach. And a reality where, unfortunately, Ukraine and Europe appear increasingly irrelevant.’
‘Romania is in a deep political, social, and economic crisis. The causes are manifold, but the chaos was installed when the presidential elections were cancelled while the people were voting.’
For years the EU dismissed peace talks as premature. When Hungary pushed for negotiations, it was vilified. Now, with Donald Trump launching talks without them, Brussels is scrambling to claim a role it once rejected.