About: illiberal democracy
Hungary’s opposition wins Budapest election, makes gains in other cities
Hungary's opposition scored its biggest election victory in a decade on Sunday (13 October) when liberal challenger Gergely Karácsony ousted ruling-party incumbent Istvan Tarlos as mayor of Budapest and opposition parties made gains in other major cities as well.
Michael Ignatieff: Hungary will not be a single-party state forever
The democratic transition is not over in Central and Eastern Europe and we will continue our mission of training people and creating "free minds, people who think", Michael Ignatieff, a Canadian academic and president of the Central European University, told EURACTIV Slovakia.
After setback, Hungary offers its EU ambassador for Commissioner
Hungary has nominated its ambassador to the EU, Olivér Várhelyi, as its new candidate for the European Commission after the Parliament blocked the first candidate put forward by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Monday (30 September).
Finnish PM says EU ready to tie funding to rule-of-law criteria
Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne said on Sunday (29 September) that all EU countries looked ready to accept that EU funding should be made conditional on democratic principles, he told Finland's public broadcaster YLE.
Orbán asks ‘the other side of EU’ to take its ‘paid activists’ home
Hungary has no plans to leave the European Union, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Sunday (29 September), adding however that eastern and western members of the bloc must find a compromise over the bloc's future.
Orban commiserates with ‘fellow combatant’ Salvini
Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán commiserated Thursday (29 August) with Italy's outgoing far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, calling him a "fellow combatant" in the fight for the "preservation of European Christian heritage and against migration".
EU takes Hungary to court over ‘Stop Soros’ migrant law
The European Union on Thursday (25 July) took Hungary to the EU's highest court over controversial legislation against assisting migrants, known as the "Stop Soros" laws.
Liberal wins Budapest primary to face Orban’s Fidesz in mayoral election
The first formal primary in Hungary's history, for Budapest's mayoral election, wrapped up on Wednesday (26 June) as the opposition joined forces to try to wrest political leadership in the capital from Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party.
Orban lost in the European wilderness
Despite securing a place among the very few European leaders with a landslide victory under their belt in the EU election, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán is not celebrating, write Balázs Jarábik and Dániel Bartha.
EU elections in Hungary: The Catch ‘19
Hungary is now caught in an anti-migration and xenophobic discourse as the society did not have the chance to learn or prepare enough, and now it seems almost impossible to change this situation, writes Marcell Lörincz.
Meeting of the minds as Trump receives Orban
US President Donald Trump on Monday (13 May) praised Hungary’s hardline authoritarian Viktor Orbán as a leader respected throughout Europe who kept his country safe with his crackdown on immigration. “Viktor Orbán has done a tremendous job in so many...
Ignoring critics, Trump to welcome Hungary’s Orban to White House
US President Donald Trump on Monday (13 May) will host Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán -- an anti-immigration firebrand and one of his few European admirers -- at the White House, despite criticism of the visit at home.
EPP divorce looms after Orban rejects Weber as Spitzenkandidat
The leader of Germany's conservatives said she expected Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party would quit Europe's main centre-right group after he withdrew support for the bloc's candidate to head the European Commission.
EU country briefing: Hungary
Hungary became part of the EU during the 2004 “big bang” enlargement. The country is also part of the Visegrád Group, a cultural and political alliance, together with fellow EU states Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Juncker looks back on 15 years of ‘big bang’ EU enlargement
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker offered interesting comments on present-day leaders of member states from Central Europe, on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the 1 May 2004 accession of 10 countries, known as “the big bang”.
France and Germany pile pressure on Poland and Hungary over rule of law
As EU affairs ministers in Luxembourg on Wednesday (9 April) again discussed the rule of law in Poland and Hungary, a joint Franco-German statement proposed a new hearing after the European elections in June.
Macron slams the EPP compromise on Orbán’s Fidesz party
French President Macron spoke in very critical terms on Friday (22 March) about the compromise reached by the European People’s Party to suspend, but not exclude Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party from the European centre-right family.
Orbán apologises to EPP leaders he called ‘useful idiots’
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has apologised to European conservative parties for calling them "useful idiots" over an anti-EU billboard campaign that could see his party ejected from the European Parliament's dominant centre-right EPP bloc.
Hungary covers posters featuring Juncker during Weber’s visit
The head of the European Parliament's dominant centre-right bloc met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Tuesday (12 March), again calling for the populist leader to apologise for an anti-EU billboard campaign.
EPP more likely to expel Fidesz if rival groups also ditch troublemakers
If mainstream political groups do not collectively expel their bad apples it could spell an end to measures by the EU to protect democracy in its member countries, write Jean Morijn and Israel Butler.
Weber to meet Orbán in last-ditch reconciliation attempt
Manfred Weber of the centre-right European People's Party will meet Hungarian populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to discuss his Fidesz Party's dispute with the EPP, a Germany newspaper reported.
Orban says Fidesz may leave EPP, look at Poland for alliance
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday (8 March) his ruling nationalist Fidesz party may drop out of the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) amid a row over his government's anti-Brussels media campaign.
Hungary plays down the EPP demand for apology as ‘an opinion’
Hungary defied demands to apologise on Wednesday (6 March) for vitriolic criticism of EU leaders, but a senior government aide suggested it was seeking compromise to avoid its ruling party’s ejection from the main conservative group in the European Parliament....