Republikon Institute

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni\'s government has introduced the Decreto Scuola 2026. The law entered into effect on October 1, 2026, and the Italian Parliament must convert it into a permanent statute within 60 days. The law includes several measures affecting the education system and minorities across Italy.

The resurfacing of the controversial “heartbeat law” for pregnancy interruptions in Hungary gave the newly elected government an opportunity to consult civil and expert opinion before a legislative decision. Understanding the chain of events and the arguments of the different actors involved in the public discourse is crucial for evaluating the successes and failures of the public consultation.

The central paradox of the Hungarian situation is that the very same direct, platform-based communication that helped Péter Magyar circumvent a politically captive media system also enables him, as Prime Minister, to bypass the critical press. The democratic risk arises when citizens come to regard the authorities’ own communications as sufficient for assessing a decision, and independent scrutiny, further questioning or the consideration of alternative interpretations are pushed into the background.

According to Europol data, minors who are victims of sexual exploitation in Europe predominantly come from the V4 countries, with Hungary being particularly overrepresented. Whether they are family members or members of criminal organizations, those involved in child trafficking primarily operate in the online sphere.

It is safe to conclude that Fidesz’s dominance was not sustained through policy persuasion alone, but through a political environment in which potential alternatives were systematically delegitimized before they could gain sufficient traction.

Ever since the 2000s, Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party had focused on the media; they considered control over the press as a major ingredient to success. Unlike the previous Socialist government who had had capital salvaged from the times of Hungary’s transition to democracy, Fidesz did not have their own press outlets.

Over the past 100 years, the region of Central-Eastern Europe (CEE) has always faced distinct kinds of uncertainty; political instability, armed conflicts, geopolitical problems and corruption. The constant fluctuation of the value of money, the frequent changes in constitutional law, economic instability, and inflation have also been leading factors in this continuous uncertainty.

The day after election night, Hungary woke up to outstretched arms, ready to embrace its return to Europe. April 12, 2026, stands as a pivotal moment in the history of Hungarian democracy. The victory of Péter Magyar and the Tisza Party marked the end of Viktor Orbán and Fidesz’s 16-year reign, ushering in a new chapter in the country’s modern timeline.

To understand why European identity runs deeper in the post-communist East, one must understand what “Europe” meant to societies that lived under the Iron Curtain. It was not merely a geographic area, but rather the name of liberation.

How has the relationship between the two countries evolved since Donald Tusk\'s recent election? To answer the question, it is essential to explore the origins of the Polish-Hungarian relationship.