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.