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\n Published on
\n 07\/04\/2026 – 15:41 GMT+2\n <\/p>\n
US Vice-President JD Vance accused the European Union of interfering in Hungary\u2019s election campaign and imposing censorship, as he visited Budapest days ahead of a pivotal vote on Sunday which could see a dramatic change in government.<\/p>\n
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Vance\u2019s trip comes five days before Sunday\u2019s election, in which Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n faces his most serious challenge in 16 years in power. The opposition Tisza party, led by P\u00e9ter Magyar, is currently ahead of Orb\u00e1n\u2019s Fidesz in opinion polls.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a joint press conference, Vance praised Orb\u00e1n\u2019s leadership, saying it \u201ccan provide a model for the continent\u201d, while sharply criticising Brussels.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bureaucrats in Brussels have tried to destroy the economy of Hungary, they have tried to make Hungary less energy independent, they have tried to drive up costs for Hungarian consumers,\u201d Vance said, adding that the EU\u2019s actions were politically motivated to hurt Orb\u00e1n for resisting liberal political conventions.<\/p>\n
He also took aim at the bloc\u2019s digital rules, including the Digital Services Act, which requires platforms to tackle disinformation and harmful content. He did not provide any evidence. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are bureaucrats in Brussels telling social media companies what information they\u2019re giving to Hungarian voters?\u201d he said, arguing that Hungarians were capable of making their own decisions.<\/p>\n
Vance further alleged that Ukrainian intelligence services were attempting to influence the Hungarian vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re certainly aware that there are elements within the Ukrainian intelligence services that try to put their thumb on the scale,\u201d he said. He did not provide any evidence. <\/p>\n
The Hungarian government has repeatedly claimed that Kyiv and Brussels are seeking to unseat Orb\u00e1n and has moved to bolster protections for critical energy infrastructure, citing fears of foreign interference.<\/p>\n
Vance, who has in the past expressed admiration for Orb\u00e1n’s ability to root out what he describes as a liberal bias from universities, vowed to assist the Hungarian leader in the final days of the campaign. <\/p>\n
“I want to help as much as I possibly can,” he told reporters in Budapest.<\/p>\n
Former US President Donald Trump has also backed the Hungarian leader, describing him as \u201ca true friend\u201d and praising his stance on migration. Trump has previously supported a number of right-wing candidates abroad.<\/p>\n
Hungary\u2019s relations with the EU have grown increasingly strained. In March, Orb\u00e1n vetoed a \u20ac90bn aid package for Ukraine, while Brussels has withheld billions in EU funds over concerns about corruption and the rule of law. The country has also faced criticism within the bloc for maintaining close ties with Russia and its reliance on Russian energy.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, opposition leader P\u00e9ter Magyar warned against foreign involvement in the vote, urging all countries to respect Hungary\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo foreign country may interfere in Hungarian elections,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is our country.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to an opinion poll published last week by the 21 Research Institute, the opposition Tisza party leads among decided voters with 56% support, compared with 37% for Fidesz \u2014 a gap of 19 percentage points.<\/p>\n
Despite voicing support for Orb\u00e1n, Vance said Washington would be prepared to work with whoever wins the election.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published on 07\/04\/2026 – 15:41 GMT+2 US Vice-President JD Vance accused the European Union of interfering in Hungary\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10494,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[18,1798,5563,57],"class_list":{"0":"post-10493","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brussels","8":"tag-brussels","9":"tag-hungary-parliamentary-elections-2026","10":"tag-jd-vance","11":"tag-viktor-orban"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@be\/116363833059968571","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}