Two Russian-linked oil refineries—Lukoil’s Petrotel plant in Romania and MOL’s Százhalombatta facility in Hungary—were rocked by explosions on Monday, halting operations. Authorities have yet to identify an official cause, but the near-simultaneous incidents have fuelled speculation of Ukrainian sabotage amid Kyiv’s ongoing drone and pipeline attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
‘The best approach for Hungarian politicians is to try to help Romania find a new path. The globalist path that the country has been on for the past two decades is coming to an end. Romania needs to figure out new ways to engage with a new world. The country can no longer rely on external alliances or foreign financial inflows. It must fight for its future and its prosperity.’
‘In the name of both myself and all the residents of the house, I lodge this complaint against unknown Romanian soldiers who, after becoming intoxicated day after day in the tavern located on the ground floor of the building, come out into the courtyard and recklessly fire their weapons with live ammunition, constantly endangering the bodily integrity and lives of the residents.’
‘Sadly, this time it isn’t one of the important outlets taking pot shots. Instead, it is the EU Observer. While a tiny fraction of the size of Politico and Euractiv, the rarely-read paper has opted to repeat the same tired tropes about Hungary—that the country is some tired, authoritarian hellhole where the public is just crying out for some liberal democracy.’
The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) will be part of the new four-party government, party leader Hunor Kelemen announced on Sunday. According to Kelemen, the Hungarian minority party will hold three ministerial posts in the coalition.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has accused the head of French foreign intelligence of pressuring him to silence conservative voices on his platform ahead of the Romanian presidential elections. The events feed into an already tense political climate in the country, following the annulment of the original vote’s first-round results in December 2024 due to alleged Russian interference.
Romania’s presidential election could end with Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan’s victory, according to exit polls showing him ahead on Sunday night. However, the result remains fiercely contested, as right-wing candidate George Simion has alleged widespread electoral fraud and declared himself the winner on social media, defying the polling data.
Romanians will cast their votes on Sunday in the run-off of the most controversial presidential election in the country’s recent history. With George Simion and Nicușor Dan running neck and neck in the polls, the outcome could be decided by both the diaspora and the Hungarian community living in Romania.
George Simion, candidate of AUR, won the first round of Romania’s presidential election, finishing ahead of Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan. The two will face off in the second round on 18 May, as the country grapples with the most serious democratic crisis in its modern history following the constitutional court’s annulment of the previous presidential results last December on questionable grounds.
‘Certain forces, possibly linked to Brussels, might attempt to interfere with the democratic voice of the Polish nation,’ warned Law and Justice (PiS) lawmaker Janusz Kowalski in an interview with Hungarian Conservative. In the conversation, Kowalski discussed the prospects ahead of the upcoming presidential election in Poland and also addressed the current state of Polish–Hungarian relations.