Hungarian Conservative

In the midst of tensions among the Visegrád Group countries, Viktor Orbán spoke about the potential for a partnership between Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and Serbia. In what areas could these countries cooperate, and what difficulties might impede such a partnership?

US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman was quick to condemn PM Viktor Orbán’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on the social media platform X., suggesting the Hungarian prime minister was ‘pleading for business deals’. In response, Balázs Orbán pointed out that the US has in fact doubled its import of enriched uranium from Russia since the start of the war.

Another summit of the intergovernmental cooperation between Austria, Hungary, and Serbia took place on 7 July in Vienna, Austria. Apart from the heads of state and government, the three nations’ ministers of foreign affairs, and domestic and law enforcement leaders also took part in the conference, held at the Austrian Chancellor’s residence. The Vienna Summit was organised in the wake of Hungary and Poland officially objecting to the migration package at the European Commission’s 30 June session.

PM Orbán must have ‘run into’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the meeting, as some Hungarian media put it. However, conspicuously, Viktor Orbán did not post any photos of him and the Ukrainian leader to social media, as opposed to prominently featured pictures with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in a Facebook post. In fact, no formal meeting has been held between the two leaders since Zelenskyy entered office. Although Orbán has been invited to Kyiv, the Hungarian government has made it quite clear that the Hungarian PM will not be travelling to Ukraine unless the rights of the Hungarian minority in the country are restored.

Some EU member states are looking to abolish the veto power of smaller countries in the area of common foreign and security policies. They argue that this would speed up the process of passing laws, however, there are many hurdles to consider.

Ambassadors Varga-Haszonits and Fałkowski were the only diplomats to be present at the Tehran event with President Raisi. Despite that, other European nations also refrain from fully committing to cutting ties with the Middle Eastern nation.

Austria’s Chancellor was the first Western leader to meet with Putin after the invasion. Now, despite strong criticism, Russian representatives were granted visas to Austria to attend the OSCE summit in Vienna in February.

At the three-country summit hosted by Budapest on Monday all parties agreed that illegal migration can only be countered by working together for the protection of all of Europe.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, announced on Monday that the EU is preparing an ’emergency intervention’ in the bloc’s power market to curb skyrocketing prices.

‘Over the past decades, the number of fences at the EU borders has risen from 0 to 19.’

The Hungarian Prime Minister was put under scrutiny for not applauding the Ukrainian President—however, he was not the only one, as some Western journalists and politicians have claimed.

‘Hungary and Austria are good neighbours and maintain very close cooperation in almost all areas, including the field of the military and defence,’ the Hungarian Minister of Defence underlined after meeting with his Austrian counterpart in Budapest.

Austria and the Netherlands vetoing Romania and Bulgaria’s Schengen accession contributes to the cementing of a multi-speed Europe.