Political Director for the Prime Minister of Hungary Balázs Orbán and John Mearsheimer, political scientist and Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, got together for a fascinating panel discussion at the Budapest Global Dialogue 2025, where they talked about the possible outcomes of the Russo-Ukrainian war and the differences between realist and liberal foreign policy.
At Budapest Global Dialogue 2025, back-to-back panels tackled the unraveling of the post-WWII order, the rise of new power blocs like BRICS, and the global trade system’s future. Speakers warned: the world is not just shifting—it is splintering and reassembling.
Speaking at the Budapest Global Dialogue 2025, North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Timčo Mucunski urged the EU to show leadership, not inertia. He emphasized the urgency of enlargement, defended his nation’s identity, and called for a bold European vision.
‘Conservatives don’t believe that we’re morally superior to our grandparents. Conservatives cherish all that’s made us: our families, our faith, our nations and the best that’s been thought and said. Conservatives count the cost of change, as well as its benefits, and want change to reflect what’s best in us, so we can come closer to being our best selves as individuals and as peoples.’
‘However we choose to understand the situation, the 7 October attacks absolutely do not “prove” that Trump’s approach with the Abraham Accords was in error. Instead, these attacks suggest that his innovative approach was too successful for malign actors such as Hamas to accept without taking spectacular and spectacularly risky measures to combat the success and promise of the Abraham Accords.’
In a speech marked by boastfulness and distortion, re-elected EPP President Manfred Weber, while repeatedly attacking Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán, delivered a clear message to Hungary ahead of the 2026 elections: those who join the EPP are expected to strictly follow his political line, including military, financial, and political support for the war in Ukraine and Kyiv’s fast-tracked EU accession.
‘US policy towards Central Europe is grounded in realism, respect, and renewed engagement,’ US Chargé d’Affaires Robert Palladino emphasized, speaking on US–Central European relations at the Central European Summit, jointly organized by the Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation and the Centre for Fundamental Rights in Budapest.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accused opposition parties of engaging in a ‘competition of provocations’ ahead of next year’s elections. Speaking on public Kossuth Radio, he addressed topics ranging from rural development and economic measures to European security and Hungary’s stance on war.
‘If Brussels clings to this policy [on Ukraine], Europe will further weaken itself and become increasingly irrelevant on the global stage,’ State Secretary of the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister Balázs Hidvéghi warned in an interview with Hungarian Conservative.
Donald Trump is reportedly considering relocating some 35,000 US soldiers from Germany to Hungary. Viktor Orbán has long advocated for strengthening European defence and establishing a joint European army, while also fully meeting Hungary’s NATO commitments on defence spending. At the same time, Hungary remains the only EU country that shares the United States’ position on Ukraine. But how likely is this plan to materialize?