told <\/a>The FT, EU officials are seeking to avoid any actions that could be interpreted as interference in Hungary\u2019s April 12 parliamentary vote. Officials are also wary of fueling Orb\u00e1n\u2019s long-running narrative that Brussels seeks to undermine his government.<\/p>\nPolls indicate Orb\u00e1n, the EU\u2019s longest-serving prime minister, faces a serious challenge from the opposition Tisza party, led by P\u00e9ter Magyar. Surveys suggest Tisza holds a lead of around 10 percentage points over Orb\u00e1n\u2019s ruling Fidesz party. Sources said Tisza had also urged EU institutions to exercise restraint during the campaign period.<\/p>\n
In a speech on February 15, Magyar promised to reinforce Hungary\u2019s role within the European Union.<\/p>\n
\u201cHungary\u2019s place is in Europe, not only because we need Europe but also because Europe needs us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The European Commission has reportedly adopted a more cautious tone in its communications regarding Hungary\u2019s rule-of-law record. Approximately \u20ac2.4 billion in additional EU funds could be disbursed to Budapest before the election, despite ongoing concerns about governance and judicial independence.<\/p>\n
\u201cMonths before such a historic, decisive election\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009they came to the conclusion that the best thing to do is not to do anything,\u201d said a Hungarian official. \u201cThe Commission is hedging its bets, which is normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
An EU diplomat echoed that view, stating: \u201cIt\u2019s wise that the Commission is not doing any massive announcements with the Hungarians in order to not risk being portrayed as interfering in the elections.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orb\u00e1n has frequently clashed with Brussels over democratic standards and foreign policy. He has cultivated close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, opposed EU military aid to Ukraine, and resisted Kyiv\u2019s bid for EU membership.<\/p>\n
Throughout the campaign, Orb\u00e1n and his allies have portrayed Magyar as aligned with Brussels. Government figures have accused the EU of attempting to influence Hungarian politics.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), a think tank linked to Orb\u00e1n, launched what it calls a \u201cDemocracy Interference Observatory\u201d to \u201canalyse how the European Union and EU-linked actors shape national elections across Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
A European Parliament official acknowledged the political sensitivity of the situation. \u201cWhatever the EU institutions will do will be used by Orb\u00e1n\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009Whatever we say or do not say, it will be used against us,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n
Orb\u00e1n has also received support from allies of U.S. President Donald Trump. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is visiting Hungary in a show of support for the government. Hungary is set to host the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) next month, where Trump is expected to deliver remarks.<\/p>\n
The Commission\u2019s position has been further complicated by a recent legal opinion from the EU\u2019s top court questioning a 2023 decision to release \u20ac10 billion in frozen funds to Hungary in order to secure Orb\u00e1n\u2019s approval of EU aid to Ukraine.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrussels is threatening Hungary through the European Court of Justice because we are not paying Ukraine,\u201d Hungary\u2019s EU minister J\u00e1nos B\u00f3ka said in response. \u201cThe allies of the Tisza party are resorting to ever harsher measures to impose their will on Hungary and bring a Brussels puppet government to power.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the potential new disbursement, roughly \u20ac17 billion in EU funds allocated to Hungary remain frozen due to concerns over discrimination and judicial independence. The European Commission has also opened an investigation into allegations that Hungarian authorities sought to recruit EU officials as spies.<\/p>\n
A Commission spokesperson said the institution was \u201cactively looking into these [spying] allegations\u201d and assessing rule-of-law developments in Hungary. \u201cWe have continued normally with our work, particularly as regards our enforcement action,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
It was \u201csimply incorrect\u201d that initiatives were being paused because of the election, the spokesperson added, stating that timing was \u201cdetermined exclusively by the necessary analytical and procedural work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Orb\u00e1n issued a decree instructing courts to drop certain lawsuits against the government, prompting concerns about judicial independence. The Commission said it was monitoring the move. \u201cWe are following developments closely, and we are now analysing the decree in question,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
The April 12 election is widely seen as a pivotal moment for Hungary\u2019s future direction within the European Union and for Orb\u00e1n\u2019s political legacy after more than a decade in power.<\/p>\n
By Sabina Mammadli<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The European Commission is softening its public stance toward Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n and may release fresh…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2121,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1258,203,1263,18,1259,1262,1257,1261,1260,1256],"class_list":{"0":"post-2120","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brussels","8":"tag-analysis-of-azerbaijan","9":"tag-azerbaijan","10":"tag-baku","11":"tag-brussels","12":"tag-important-news-of-azerbaijan","13":"tag-international-experts","14":"tag-interviews","15":"tag-interviews-with-azerbaijani-analysts","16":"tag-news-from-baku","17":"tag-news-of-azerbaijan"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2120","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=2120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}