Hungary has granted asylum to Poland’s former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, a move that has sharpened tensions between two European Union and NATO members once regarded as close political allies. Ziobro, a central figure in Poland’s controversial judicial overhaul under the previous nationalist government, says he sought refuge to escape what he describes as politically motivated prosecution by Warsaw’s current leadership.
The decision comes at a time of wider uncertainty in Central and Eastern Europe, as the war in Ukraine and shifting U.S. foreign policy priorities under President Donald Trump unsettle long-standing political alignments. Ziobro announced on Monday that he had accepted asylum offered by Budapest, citing “political repression” in Poland.
Allegations and Legal Dispute
Poland’s pro-EU government under Prime Minister Donald Tusk has pledged to pursue accountability for alleged abuses committed during the rule of the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party. Ziobro is the most senior former official so far to be targeted by prosecutors.
He faces accusations of misusing public funds from the Justice Fund, which was intended to support victims of crime. Prosecutors allege that some of the money was diverted to purchase the Pegasus spyware system, which they say was later used to surveil domestic political opponents. Ziobro rejects the accusations, insisting they amount to a political witch hunt linked to investigations he launched as prosecutor general into figures close to Tusk.
Ziobro said he has also applied for asylum for his wife. Polish authorities had already summoned Hungary’s ambassador last week after reports that Budapest had granted asylum to two Polish nationals. In 2024, Hungary drew sharp criticism from Warsaw by granting asylum to Marcin Romanowski, a former deputy justice minister also accused of misusing public funds.
Political Fallout Between Warsaw and Budapest
The asylum decision highlights a widening political divide between Poland and Hungary, whose governments once coordinated closely in resisting EU pressure over rule-of-law concerns. While Poland under Tusk has moved decisively back toward Brussels, Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has maintained its confrontational stance toward EU institutions and framed asylum decisions as protection against political persecution.
Poland’s ruling coalition reacted angrily to Ziobro’s move. Senior officials accused him of fleeing justice rather than defending himself in court, portraying his asylum bid as an admission of weakness rather than persecution. The Hungarian government did not immediately comment on the decision.
Analysis
Ziobro’s asylum in Hungary is about more than one man’s legal troubles; it symbolises the political realignment underway in Central Europe. Poland is seeking to reassert its commitment to EU norms and legal accountability, while Hungary continues to position itself as a haven for figures who claim to be targeted by liberal or pro-EU governments.
The case also sets an uncomfortable precedent within the EU, where member states are expected to trust each other’s judicial systems. By granting asylum to a former minister from a fellow EU country, Hungary is implicitly questioning Poland’s rule of law at a moment when Warsaw is trying to rebuild credibility in Brussels. In the longer term, such moves risk eroding mutual trust inside the bloc and turning legal accountability into yet another front in Europe’s growing ideological divide.
With information from Reuters.