About: Viktor Orbán
Hungary says ‘no climate neutrality’ without nuclear but backs EU target
Hungary quietly lent its support to the EU’s 2050 carbon neutrality goal on Monday (17 June). It is now among 22 countries to do so, but its support comes with a caveat: Budapest sees nuclear power as the main way of meeting the target.
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.
European mainstream politicians see hope in downfall of Austrian far right leader
Politicians from Europe's mainstream parties called on voters to stand against the far right, after a video sting brought down the leader of Austria's Freedom Party (FPÖ), hurting the momentum of nationalists days before a European parliamentary election.
Austria scandal overshadows Salvini’s European nationalist rally
Italian populist leader Matteo Salvini on Saturday (18 May) gathered Europe's disparate nationalists for a unifying rally overshadowed by a major corruption scandal shaking Austria's far-right coalition.
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.
Juncker regrets not intervening in Brexit referendum campaign
European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said Tuesday (7 May) he regrets not intervening in the Brexit referendum, insisting the EU could have "destroyed the lies" that led to Britain voting to leave.
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.
Tusk addresses Poles on Constitution Day
Council President Donald Tusk, a former Polish Prime Minister who is at odds with the populist government of the Law and Order party (PiS), addressed a series of messages to his compatriots on 3 May, Constitution Day.
Bavarian, Austrian conservatives frown at Orbán’s call to ally with populists
The leaders of Austria and Bavaria rejected on Friday (3 May) a call by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for their centre-right group in the European Parliament to ally with populist, nationalist parties ahead of EU elections later this month.
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.
Orban says Salvini is the most important politician in Europe
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said the European Parliament's main centre-right group must forge an alliance with populist, nationalist groups after impending EU elections, receiving a swift rebuke from Germany's conservative leader.
Greens: Bulgarian media mogul ‘the kind of people we are fighting against’
Ahead of the World Press Freedom day, the European Greens presented on Tuesday (30 April) proposals for how to guarantee media freedom in Europe. The real question, however, will be how to deal with 'rogue elements' from inside the EU institutions.
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”.
Juncker vows to fight Brussels-bashing before European elections
EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has vowed to crack down on Brussels-bashing in the run up to next month's European elections.
EU elections revive Eurosceptic talks in Poland and Hungary
As we approach the EU elections, the Eurosceptic political rhetoric in Hungary and Poland is once again rising. This is hardly surprising, given the critical view the governing parties and their leaders, Viktor Orbán and Jaroslaw Kaczyński, share towards the EU...
Progressive camp eyes part of ALDE, Macron – Timmermans
Frans Timmermans, the Social Democrats' candidate to lead the next European Commission, will try to form a progressive majority after the EU elections but will need some of the 'progressive liberals' from the ALDE group and will extend a hand to the party of Emmanuel Macron.
Weber: Ignoring Spitzenkandidaten would harm EU democracy
Most European leaders and parties have agreed to the Spitzenkandidat principle. If they suddenly ditched it, it would be a huge step back for democracy in Europe and could risk conflict between the European Parliament and the Council, said Manfred Weber, the centre-right EPP party's Spitzenkandidat for the European elections.
EPP has ‘lost all credibility’ after Orbán scandal, Verhofstadt says
The European People's Party has “lost all credibility and moral authority to lead the EU,” ALDE's leader Guy Verhofstadt has said, following the EPP's decision to suspend but not expel Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party.
Bullmann: May should put the Brexit question back to the people
UK Prime Minister Theresa May should stop wasting time and start working with the Labour Party for a closer EU-UK relationship, or put the question back to the British people, socialist chief Udo Bullmann told EURACTIV.com in an interview.
Orban in fresh anti-EU swipe after European suspension
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán again lashed out at “Brussels bureaucrats” Sunday (24 March), days after reaching a compromise with conservative allies in the European Parliament who were angered by an anti-EU billboard campaign. During a public radio interview Orbán accused the...
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.