The Future Is Emerging from Washington and Budapest — So What Now?
‘For the Budapest-centric circles I move in, the strategy paper consists mainly of familiar assumptions and positions.’
‘For the Budapest-centric circles I move in, the strategy paper consists mainly of familiar assumptions and positions.’
Viktor Orbán praised Donald Trump’s new National Security Strategy as ‘the most important and interesting’ document of recent years, saying it finally recognizes the civilizational crisis Europe faces. The Hungarian prime minister wrote that America now sees the decline Hungary has been fighting against for 15 years.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary has been included in POLITICO 28 again this year, the annual list of the most influential European figures by the political site. PM Orbán is ranked at #12, although his write-up is the most complimentary by the editors. US President Donald Trump has been ranked #1 on the list.
The EU has spent the past decade dismissing Hungary’s warnings about migration and sovereignty. Now Washington under Trump is sounding the same alarm, urging Europe to stop its downward spiral—but Brussels responds with indignation instead of introspection, accelerating its decline.
President Santiago Peña, a member of the conservative Colorado Party, became the first incumbent Paraguayan President to visit Hungary in 30 years. He has met with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, President Tamás Sulyok, and House Speaker László Kövér of Hungary as well.
A new US-conducted poll shows Prime Minister Viktor Orbán maintaining a strong lead ahead of the 2026 Hungarian elections. Fidesz stands at 44 per cent, while the Tisza Party faces declining credibility after the leak of a controversial policy document.
The Danube Institute launched its new Turkic Western Engagement Initiative (TWEI) in Budapest on Tuesday with a high-profile conference exploring how the West and the Turkic world can deepen cooperation amid growing geopolitical volatility, with particular emphasis on Hungary’s strategic bridging role.
The European Commission’s decision to fine X €120 million under the DSA has ignited the sharpest transatlantic clash since Trump returned to power. Musk called the penalty ‘bullsh*t’, while senior US officials warned the EU is undermining free speech and straining the foundations of the alliance.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán warned that the 2026 parliamentary election will be the last before Hungary could face a direct threat of war, arguing that only a national government can keep the country out of a conflict he says is approaching Europe. He claimed Brussels is preparing the EU for confrontation with Russia and shifting towards a war economy.
‘Unless NATO can produce a credible plan to remain relevant in a world that is changing dramatically—geopolitically and technologically—it risks falling apart under the weight of its own irrelevance.’