Political Director to the Prime Minister of Hungary Balázs Orbán has said in a recent podcast appearance that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit underscores Washington’s strategic alliance with Hungary, rooted in the strong ties with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. He argued the US supports Hungary’s success under the current government, while dismissing European criticism of Secretary Rubio’s visit.

Hungary has achieved its greatest infrastructure progress in expressway development in recent years, catching up with Austria, State Secretary at the Ministry of Construction and Transport Nándor Csepreghy said at a road junction inauguration in Jászberény, while pledging further rail and feeder road upgrades.

A transgender gunman opened fire on his own family during a high school hockey tournament in Rhode Island on 16 February, killing two people and critically injuring three others before taking his own life. The attack follows several recent North American cases involving transgender perpetrators, adding to concerns about a growing pattern of extreme violence.

‘The radical leftist kills the right-wing man; the moderate leftist is content to applaud.’

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz–KDNP alliance would win comfortably if elections were held this Sunday, according to a new poll by the Center for Fundamental Rights. The findings suggest the governing parties have stabilized their lead ahead of April’s vote, reinforcing momentum built on geopolitical firmness and perceptions of steady governance.

Senior Fidesz–KDNP politicians presented their national list in Budapest, highlighting what they called historic achievements and framing the April election as a choice between national sovereignty and foreign influence, while sharply criticizing their opponents.

‘As in other European nations, sex crimes have skyrocketed in Austria. According to one report: “Hardly a day goes by without reports of sex attacks” at the hands of migrants. After Afghan migrants assaulted and tried to rape a blonde woman, police responded by advising her to dye her hair black.’

Standing beside Viktor Orbán in Budapest, Marco Rubio praised the Hungarian prime minister’s role in advancing US interests and pledged a financial protective shield for the country, saying Hungary should thrive ‘as long as you’re prime minister’. The remarks, coupled with the signing of a key nuclear deal between the two countries, signal firm support from the Trump administration ahead of Hungary’s closely watched April elections.

At a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia has claimed that he considers the Ukrainian government’s delay in restarting the Druzhba pipeline ‘political blackmail’ against Hungary to force Budapest into agreeing with Ukraine’s EU accession. The Druzhba pipeline transports Russian crude oil to Europe.

Mercedes-Benz saw its net profit fall by 49 per cent last year amid weak sales in China, tariffs and currency pressures, while also recalling nearly 12,000 EQB electric vehicles in the United States over battery fire risks. To ease the pain, the company is investing more in its Kecskemét plant in Hungary.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy sharply criticized Viktor Orbán for blocking Kyiv’s EU accession during remarks at the Munich Security Conference, intensifying an already strained relationship between Ukraine and Hungary. In response, the prime minister condemned the political attacks directed at his government ahead of the parliamentary vote in April, stressing that Kyiv is directly interfering in Hungary’s electoral process.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán expressed support for US-led peace efforts in Ukraine during talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Budapest, where the two sides also signed a nuclear energy cooperation agreement.

A survey by the Nézőpont Institute and Hungary’s public media found that 74 per cent of respondents support the 13th-month pension, and two-thirds consider the utility price cap a responsible government decision.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Budapest on Sunday for talks with Hungarian leaders, including the signing of a nuclear energy cooperation agreement and discussions on bilateral ties and efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine.

‘Ukraine’s agile innovations and Russia’s scaled standardization both demonstrate how gaming culture can bolster sovereignty against aggression, yet unchecked, it threatens to dissolve the human element in warfare, turning soldiers into avatars in a perpetual virtual arena.’

At his annual State of the Nation Address, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary stated that the oil business, the banking sector, and the Brussels elite are trying to form a government in Hungary through the opposition Tisza Party. If they were to succeed, international corporations would siphon billions of forints out of the country, hurting Hungarian families, he warned.

Budapest’s culture draws tourists through architecture, music, film, and cuisine. Experts at a BP Műhely panel highlighted how residents shape the city’s image, from service workers to everyday curiosity, while sports and party districts diversify the capital’s appeal on the global stage.

The Republican Representatives in the US House, joined by one Democrat, have passed the SAVE Act, which would amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require proof of US citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. The bill is now headed to the Senate, where it will have a tough fight to clear the 60-vote filibuster threshold, despite the GOP’s majority in the Chamber.

Budapest’s municipality has begun construction on the Demo Hub, a pilot project under the EU co-financed AHA Budapest programme, transforming a long-vacant school building in Újpest into 26 energy-efficient affordable homes.

‘Is Donald Trump really weakening Europe? Or is it the fact that we have admitted millions of people whom we are unable to integrate? Over a 50–100-year horizon, this will fundamentally reshape our societies.’

Hungary’s Transport Ministry held a workshop on integrating stronger traffic education into the revised Traffic Code, focusing on early childhood training, unified methodology and a national action plan to improve road safety.

Hungary got Ukraine for a politically charged clash, as well as Georgia and Northern Ireland for their UEFA Nations League group opponents in League B of the competition. The games will be played this fall.

Francesca Albanese has a long track record of antisemitic remarks and denunciations of Israel, for which she has faced repeated condemnation and even sanctions from the Trump administration.

‘Eventually, a compromise was reached, and Kyiv was authorized to procure weapons from outside the bloc…In exchange for the purchases, these non-EU countries are required to participate in the cost of the loan. Brussels will negotiate the exact level of “fair and proportionate” contributions with each partner country individually.’

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said a Brussels–Kyiv alliance is seeking to remove Hungary’s national government as an obstacle to fast-tracking Ukraine’s EU accession, arguing that political change in Budapest is central to the plan.

In a recent episode of the Brussels Playbook Podcast, POLITICO’s Chief EU Correspondent Zoya Sheftalovich has explained that the EU leadership is hiding information about Ukraine’s planned accession to help Péter Magyar defeat Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the upcoming Hungarian elections. If PM Orbán does prevail, the EU is even willing to strip Hungary of its voting rights, she also revealed.

‘The rules-based international order fragmenting, uncertainty growing, and conflicts multiplying around the world, this year’s conference is taking place at a fundamental turning point.’

From the collapse of USAID to debates over federalism and decentralization, speakers argued that aid and political models in the Middle East must be grounded in realism, accountability and respect for lived realities rather than abstract ideals.

New data from the Kiel Institute reveal a decisive turning point in the Ukraine war: Europe, not the United States, has become Kyiv’s primary military and financial backer. As Washington scales down support under Donald Trump, European governments are assuming the burden—transforming the conflict from a mainly American proxy war into Europe’s own geopolitical and economic responsibility.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has condemned Brussels’s reported plan to fast-track Ukraine into the European Union by 2027 as ‘an open declaration of war’ against Hungary. He warned that proposals to remove his veto—through electoral change or stripping Hungary’s voting rights—amount to a direct assault on national sovereignty and democratic choice.