Elon Musk has publicly humiliated Ursula von der Leyen over the EU’s democratic deficit, replying to her post about the ‘European Democracy Shield’ by asking: ‘If democracy is the foundation of freedom, shouldn’t your position be elected by the people?’ The viral exchange reignited debate over the Commission’s legitimacy and growing centralization of power in Brussels.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán warned that Europe is on the brink of a new arms race and drifting toward war, urging Hungary to remain on the side of peace while outlining his government’s economic plans, including pension reforms and wage programmes.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen survived two separate censure motions in the European Parliament on Thursday, as mainstream factions once again shielded her from calls to resign. The right-wing Patriots for Europe and the Left had accused her of failures on trade, transparency and leadership, but both votes fell well short.
Just after Ursula von der Leyen vowed in Strasbourg that ‘Europe is in a fight’, she now faces no-confidence motions from both flanks: Patriots for Europe will table one at midnight, citing EU weakness and escalation in Ukraine, while the Left files separately, denouncing her Gaza inaction and trade agenda.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has demanded financial compensation from the European Commission for Hungary’s border protection efforts, telling Ursula von der Leyen that Budapest has blocked over a million illegal migrants since 2015 but has been fined instead of supported by Brussels.
During the opening panel of MCC Feszt 2025 on Thursday, Balázs Orbán declared that the European Commission had betrayed European citizens by accepting the humiliating terms of the US–EU trade deal and that Ursula von der Leyen should resign. Joined by Patrick Deneen and James Orr, the panellists explored the prospects of a world beyond liberalism.
After the US–EU trade deal, it is impossible to ignore the striking similarities between late Qing‑era China and Europe’s current predicament. The period marking the downfall of the Qing dynasty is known as China’s Century of Humiliation—a process that, in many respects, is already well underway in today’s Europe. Yet our humiliation must not be allowed to last a century.
Péter Szijjártó didn’t mince words in criticizing Ursula von der Leyen, calling her a diplomatic embarrassment and slamming the US–EU trade deal as a humiliating defeat for Europe. Speaking on the Warriors’ Hour podcast, he said the EU would now pay the price for eight years of insulting Trump.
After months of negotiations between Brussels and Washington, Ursula von der Leyen and Donald Trump announced a new EU-US trade deal. Though hailed as a success by the Commission President, the agreement disproportionately favours the United States, risking Europe’s strategic overdependence on Washington. Additionally, the deal delivers a serious blow to Hungary’s economy.
The European Commission’s budget proposal for 2028–2034 has drawn unprecedented criticism from across the European Union—from the European Parliament and member states to NGOs representing a wide range of sectors. In this article, we seek to explain why.