Politics

For a long time under Orbán’s illiberal regime, the common sentiment on the street was that the EU should intervene to help Hungarians. This was, of course, unrealistic, and should the EU have intervened more, Orbán would have used it to get Hungary out of the Union. The EU, however, is still in the focus of sentiments on the streets.

How has the recent election transformed the Bulgarian political scene? What will be the European priorities of the newly formed government? What is Rumen Radev\'s main message? And what was his secret that helped him ensure a win? Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Maria Simeonova, the Head of the Sofia office at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).

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.

Hungarian voters elected the opposition Tisza party with a landslide, ending 16 years of an illiberal Orbán regime. The constitutional majority vested on Tisza will be needed to undo the crony system, restart the economy and reinstate rule of law, but there are inherent dangers that this absolute power can corrupt the new government.

What is the expected outcome of the upcoming parliamentary election in Hungary? What are opposition leader Péter Magyar\'s chances of winning? Will this be the end of the Orbán-era? Will there be any attempts at rigging the election?

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.

Following Google (Alphabet), the tech giant Meta has also decided to simply ban political, electoral, and social issue advertisements in the EU due to the \"unenforceability\" and excessive complexity of the new EU transparency rules (TTPA). Consequently, as of October 6, it is no longer possible to run such advertisements on Facebook.

The two front-runner parties, the long-time governing Fidesz-KDNP, and the newcomer Tisza Party, will surely have a great presence in Parliament, but aside from the far-right Our Homeland party, other opposition groups have either withdrawn or hope to pass the 5% entry threshold.

In 2016, Viktor Orbán made a risky move. The prime minister’s July endorsement of Donald Trump might have come as a surprise given the obvious ideological affinity between the two leaders, but Orbán was the first head of state to openly back the American president when Hillary Clinton was still considered as the favorite for the White House.

Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) said that Estonia\'s air defenses will become multilayered over the next few years, with over EUR 200 million invested in drone defense.