P\u00e9ter Magyar\u2019s election as Hungary\u2019s next prime minister \u2014 ending 16 years of Viktor Orb\u00e1n\u2019s rule \u2014 could reshape Orb\u00e1n\u2019s influence network in Brussels, from EU Commissioner Oliv\u00e9r V\u00e1rhelyi to MCC Brussels, a government-linked think tank.<\/p>\n
Magyar\u2019s Tisza Party, which secured a two-thirds constitutional majority, has pledged to reorient Hungary\u2019s relationships with the EU and NATO. While Magyar has yet to detail his plans for Brussels, he promised sweeping change during the campaign and after the vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cA simple change of government is not enough to solve these problems; a change of regime is needed, because an organised criminal group is effectively running our country,\u201d Magyar said on Monday at an international press conference.<\/p>\n
Magyar also called on key state figures, including President Tam\u00e1s Sulyok, to resign or face removal. He also targeted some of Orb\u00e1n’s closest friends, also part of a wealthy circle, such as Hungary’s richest man L\u0151rincz M\u00e9sz\u00e1ros.<\/p>\n
In recent years, Orb\u00e1n has built an extensive network in Brussels to advance his policy agenda and amplify his political narrative. Several key figures now face potential removal, while allied organisations may see their funding reduced.<\/p>\n
Hungarian Commissioner V\u00e1rhelyi as weakest link<\/p>\n
One of Orb\u00e1n\u2019s most prominent allies in Brussels is Oliv\u00e9r V\u00e1rhelyi, the EU Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare. Neither Magyar nor the Tisza Party has explicitly named him as a target, but many in Brussels see the change of government as an opportunity to press for his removal.<\/p>\n
V\u00e1rhelyi is regarded as a close ally of Orb\u00e1n and has regularly attended party-political events organised by the Patriots for Europe group. He is currently the subject of an internal Commission investigation into his alleged role in a spying scandal.<\/p>\n
According to press reports, Hungary\u2019s permanent representation, which carries out diplomatic work and connects the capitals with the institutions in Brussels, operated a network of spies targeting Hungarian nationals working at EU institutions.<\/p>\n
The Commission opened an investigation and reported progress on Tuesday, two days after the Hungarian elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cProgress has been made, and the Commission will inform the Parliament once all administrative steps are completed,\u201d Commission spokesperson Bal\u00e1zs Ujv\u00e1ri said, declining to provide further details.<\/p>\n
V\u00e1rhelyi said last October that he had been unaware of any spying recruitment during his time as ambassador. As Permanent Representative, he also worked alongside the future prime minister: Magyar served as a diplomat between 2011 and 2015.<\/p>\n
Magyar said in October that V\u00e1rhelyi \u201cdid not reveal the whole truth\u201d about the allegations. If the investigation\u2019s findings reflect badly on V\u00e1rhelyi, this could create grounds for his removal, either by Hungary\u2019s new government or by the Commission itself.<\/p>\n
Commissioners are not required to step down if their home government withdraws confidence. However, they may resign voluntarily, or the Commission president may request their resignation or dismiss them.<\/p>\n
In the latter case, with the agreement of the member state concerned, the commissioner can be replaced by a candidate proposed by that country. Euronews sought comment from V\u00e1rhelyi; he had not responded at the time of publication.<\/p>\n
Hungarian ambassador to the EU under scrutiny<\/p>\n
Magyar made no specific mention of replacing ambassadors, but the position of Hungary\u2019s Permanent Representative in Brussels is among the most sensitive in the country\u2019s diplomatic service.<\/p>\n
Permanent Representative B\u00e1lint \u00d3dor, a career diplomat, has implemented key decisions and vetoes of the Orb\u00e1n government in Brussels, including blocking several sanctions packages against Russia and opposing the delisting of Russian businessmen. \u00d3dor began his diplomatic career in 2002 and was appointed to the role in 2022.<\/p>\n
As the incoming government prepares to shift Hungary\u2019s EU policy, his replacement appears likely, though not certain. \u00d3dor is not widely regarded as an Orb\u00e1n loyalist, but the position requires full political trust.<\/p>\n
At Monday\u2019s press conference, Magyar signalled that he intends to rely on the existing diplomatic and civil service apparatus, without referring specifically to ambassadors.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause someone was part of a system \u2014 as a career diplomat, a government official, or a department head \u2014 watching the plundering of our country, that does not mean they are not a good public servant. We count on the experience of such people,\u201d Magyar said.<\/p>\n
Hungary\u2019s Permanent Representation to the EU did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
Think tanks and intelligentsia network<\/p>\n
MCC Brussels is the EU arm of the Mathias Corvinus Collegium, a private educational institute and think tank widely seen as an ideological pillar of Orb\u00e1n\u2019s inner circle.<\/p>\n
Bal\u00e1zs Orb\u00e1n, the outgoing prime minister\u2019s political director, chairs the MCC curatorium, while MCC Brussels is led by British-Hungarian academic Frank Furedi. The organisation\u2019s stated mission is to influence the policy debate in Brussels.<\/p>\n
Despite the election result, MCC Brussels says it has no intention of scaling back its operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe plan to keep doing what we do at MCC Brussels \u2014 we are not going anywhere and we have a lot to do,\u201d MCC Brussels\u2019 John O\u2019Brien told Euronews. \u201cAs an independent organisation, we will continue to research, analyse and advocate around our core concerns, and continue to hold EU institutions to account,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
MCC Brussels is currently funded through subsidies from MCC\u2019s Budapest headquarters, totalling \u20ac6.26 million in 2025.<\/p>\n
At his press conference, Magyar threatened to investigate the transfer of state assets to MCC, announcing plans for a dedicated office to recover such assets. He also said that state financing for MCC and conservative gatherings such as CPAC would be discontinued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe state will not finance these things \u2014 neither the event called CPAC, nor the Mathias Corvinus Collegium and other affiliated institutions. I say it should not have financed them until now. This was a crime,\u201d Magyar said.<\/p>\n
However, MCC received a substantial financial injection just days before the election. Last Friday, Hungary\u2019s oil giant MOL approved a dividend payment of HUF 241 billion (approximately \u20ac662 million) to its shareholders.<\/p>\n
MCC holds a 10% stake in MOL, meaning the organisation\u2019s Budapest headquarters received around \u20ac66 million shortly before Orb\u00e1n lost power.<\/p>\n
Cutting down events and receptions<\/p>\n
The Foundation for a Civic Hungary is the party foundation of the ruling Fidesz party, which has maintained a Brussels office for lobbying, organising events, and promoting Orb\u00e1n\u2019s conservative agenda.<\/p>\n
The office is now reassessing its presence in Brussels in light of Fidesz\u2019s poor election performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder Hungarian law and European and German practice, party foundations receive state support in proportion to the votes cast for their affiliated parties,\u201d the Brussels office told Euronews.<\/p>\n
\u201cRespecting the election results, we will make decisions about our activities in the coming weeks. Our foundation will continue to serve the civic side in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"P\u00e9ter Magyar\u2019s election as Hungary\u2019s next prime minister \u2014 ending 16 years of Viktor Orb\u00e1n\u2019s rule \u2014 could…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11483,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[18,7854,326,7853,7336,7855,938,2717,2351,57],"class_list":["post-11482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brussels","tag-brussels","tag-eu-institutions","tag-hungary","tag-mcc","tag-oliver-varhelyi","tag-permanent-representative","tag-peter-magyar","tag-prime-minister","tag-the-commission","tag-viktor-orban"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@be\/116404067105772787","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11482","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=11482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}