President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Hungarian-born Sebastian Gorka as director general for counter-terrorism in his new administration. Gorka, who previously served in Trump’s first administration, is a staunch supporter of Israel and takes a hardline stance against radical Islamic terrorist groups.
With Austria’s veto lifted, Romania and Bulgaria are set to become full members of the Schengen area by 2025. The agreement was reached in Budapest under the auspices of the Hungarian EU Presidency, marking yet another success for the often-criticized presidency in recent weeks.
It’s official! As expected, US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman has announced his departure following Donald Trump’s victory. Pressman’s tenure will be remembered for his persistent criticism of the Hungarian government, and his exit may signal the start of a new chapter in Hungarian–American relations.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri on charges of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán condemned the decision, stating that Netanyahu will not be arrested if he visits Hungary.
‘Europe must break out of this echo chamber, find its place in its relationship with Asia, and recognize that it is part of the Eurasian region. It must leverage all the advantages this position offers, because without doing so, we cannot compete with other global power centres,’ Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán warned at the Eurasia Forum in Budapest.
‘It’s nice that a relatively small Central European country like Hungary could be in some ways a sort of laboratory for these kind of family policy experiments so that we could identify which policies had the most significant impact and which ones fell short of delivering the expected results,’ Heritage Foundation Senior Research Fellow Jay W Richards highlighted in an interview with Hungarian Conservative.
The Court of Justice of the European Union began its hearing on Hungary’s child protection law this week. Hungary faces opposition from 16 EU member states and the European Commission, which have labelled the law as ‘anti-LGBTQ’. A ruling against Budapest could carry significant and unforeseen implications for the future of the European Union.
Balázs Orbán, the political director to the Hungarian prime minister, has penned a detailed opinion piece on the achievements of the Hungarian EU presidency thus far. And there have been plenty: the successful hosting of two Budapest summits, the adoption of the Budapest Declaration, and the expansion of the pro-peace camp—all of which Hungary has influenced directly or indirectly.
‘Sovereign conservatism has a moral duty to prioritize what is best for your own people. If you are not strong enough to defend your position, you are not sovereign,’ Balázs Orbán stated. The political director to the Hungarian prime minister made this remark while participating in a conference hosted by the Danube Institute focusing on the foreign policy implications of a second Donald Trump presidency.
‘If the US prioritizes its own interests, which is understandable, the EU must adopt a similar stance. Should Brussels focus on advancing external economic agendas, Europe risks falling behind in the race for prosperity and progress,’ Hungarian Ministerial Commissioner Bernadett Petri warned in an interview with Hungarian Conservative.
‘A new chapter is unfolding—the patriots have emerged on the horizon, and the era of sovereignty has begun,’ Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán declared at the first general assembly of the Patriots for Europe in Paris. The event, attended by the most prominent figures of the European right, saw Santiago Abascal, leader of Spain’s VOX party, elected as the new chairman of the political group.
‘I have never been to a summit where such a sharp and intense political discourse was generated,’ Hungarian EU Affairs Minister Jánós Bóka said in an interview with Magyar Nemzet. Bóka also revealed that the long-term goal for the future of the European Political Community is for it to become a platform for the European security system.
A new court ruling this week has prevented Italy from transferring migrants to reception centres in Albania under an agreement with the Balkan country. Similar cases highlight that the position of national and European courts on migration is one of the biggest obstacles to addressing this pressing issue.
The Netflix series Mary, set to be released on 6 December, has come under fire following antisemitic attacks on social media after the unveiling of its first trailer this week. Users have expressed outrage because Mary, who was Jewish, is portrayed by an Israeli actress, and several cast members are Israeli.
Prosecutors have initiated proceedings against another leader of the right-wing political group Patriots for Europe; this time Herbert Kickl, leader of the Austrian Freedom Party, who is facing the potential waiver of his immunity. The news comes just one day after the prosecutors requested prison sentence for RN’s Marine Le Pen.
Prosecutors have demanded prison and a ban from public office for Marine Le Pen, a key figure in the French National Rally party. Viktor Orbán responded to the accusations against his ally, stating: ‘Marine, please remember we are with you in this battle!’
Protesting antifa crowds attempted to block the entrance to the Hungarian House in Brussels to stop the event launching Jordan Bardella’s new book. According to Balázs Orbán’s post on X, the mob threw bottles and fireworks at the police, marking another attempt to silence right-wing voices in the capital of Europe.
With Donald Trump’s victory, it is highly likely that David Pressman’s career as US ambassador in Budapest, during which he has consistently attacked the Hungarian government, will come to an end soon. In this article we have compiled a list of his potential successors.
‘The House of the Nation is a symbol of our independence, sovereignty, and solidarity,’ Kinga Gál, Chair of the Fidesz–KDNP delegation to the EP, emphasized at the opening ceremony of the photo exhibition that presents the Hungarian Parliament building at the European Parliament in Brussels. The exhibition opened as part of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The NGO World Justice Project (WJP) has just published its annual rule of law ranking, which—like in previous years—gives Hungary an extremely low score. However, there is no cause for concern: the methodology of this George Soros-backed organization ranks democracies based on entirely subjective elements, making it a tool for exerting political pressure on Hungary.
Press reports indicate that in Donald Trump’s new administration Marco Rubio will be appointed Secretary of State, and Mike Waltz will take on the role of national security advisor. These likely appointments are promising for Hungary, as both politicians hold views on key issues—such as the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East—that align with Budapest’s foreign policy.
The United Nation’s climate change conference began on 11 November, with participants from almost 200 countries. Hungary’s focus during this year’s conference will be to protect farmers from green measures that could harm agriculture.
According to press reports, the European Parliament may approve the candidacy of Hungary’s Commissioner-designate, Olivér Várhelyi, on Wednesday. Unsurprisingly, the left-wing groups in the EP turned his first hearing into an ideological battle, refusing to approve his nomination on biased grounds.
Hungarian Finance Minister Mihály Varga presented the government’s draft budget for next year to parliament on Monday. ‘The 2025 budget can be a budget for new opportunities, a budget for new economic policy, and a budget for peace,’ he emphasized in his speech.
According to information provided by Hungarian authorities, a 37-year-old Irish man killed 31-year-old US citizen Mackenzie Michalski in Budapest. The woman, who worked as a nurse, had come to the Hungarian capital for a holiday, a city she deeply loved, but never returned home.
Although less than a week has passed since the US presidential election, President-elect Donald Trump has already spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war in Ukraine, at least according to American media reports. However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the news as ‘pure fiction’ and stressed that Putin has no specific plans to speak with Trump at present.
At the informal European Council meeting in Hungary, the leaders of the member states adopted the Budapest Declaration, which focuses on measures to boos the EU’s competitiveness. The decision was announced by Viktor Orbán, who highlighted that there is a strong consensus on the need to ‘make Europe great again’.
In an outlandish article in the Washington Examiner, Tom Rogan cautions Donald Trump that Viktor Orbán is playing him for a fool and is merely attempting to advance the interests of China and Russia through their close relationship. The author clearly fails to grasp the fact that Viktor Orbán has always prioritized Hungary’s interests when dealing with China and Russia, something that, as opposed to the short-sighted pundit, President-elect Trump is well aware of.
Leaders gathered at the European Political Community Summit in Budapest reached consensus on several key issues. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that there was agreement on the urgent need to achieve peace in Ukraine and to develop a new European security architecture. He also warned against judicial activism that may hinder government efforts to stop migration.
US Ambassador David Pressman delivered a speech on the eve of Donald Trump’s election victory, in which he, as usual, criticized the Hungarian government. Pressman stated that Viktor Orbán had gambled with Hungarian–American relations by wholeheartedly supportingTrump, highlighting that it is not credible to assume that a new president can solve all problems.