Magyar was greeted with hope at his inaugural EU summit in Brussels, whereas Orbán gathered far-right allies nearby in a smaller venue, urging a veto of the bloc’s forthcoming seven-year budget. For the EU institutions, the era of Orbán has ended.
Brussels received the new Hungarian Prime Minister expecting a summit free of conflict.
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Péter Magyar arrived promising a shift in both tone and approach, signaling a return to the conservative European mainstream and advocating for restored unanimity.
«Hungary will now be represented differently. We certainly won’t agree on everything. Yet, one thing I promise is that I will advocate solely for Hungary’s and its people’s interests. We will not block or reject proposals for domestic political or partisan reasons,» Magyar stated to journalists upon his arrival at the Brussels summit on Thursday.
He also attended a meeting of the European People’s Party, where he engaged with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, EPP President Manfred Weber, and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.
«I had an excellent discussion with the new Hungarian prime minister, whom I know well, and I look forward to collaborating with him,» Metsola told reporters.
A Hungarian diplomat attending the EPP session, speaking anonymously, noted that most leaders expressed relief at Hungary’s reentry into the European mainstream.
«Several leaders emphasized that the EU must consider the rapid developments occurring in Hungary during its ongoing processes,» the diplomat told Euronews.
On the summit’s sidelines, Magyar met with his Visegrád Group counterparts and participated in talks among the «Friends of Cohesion» — a coalition aiming to preserve EU agricultural and cohesion funding in the forthcoming European budget, as financial negotiations commence in Brussels.
Magyar voices concerns regarding Ukraine’s accession
Restoring Hungary’s relations with the EU and unlocking frozen funds were key points in Magyar’s election platform. Since assuming office in early May, he has promptly worked to resolve most pending disputes with Brussels.
At the end of May, he secured a political deal with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to release €16.4 billion previously withheld. Shortly after, Hungary withdrew its veto on initiating the first phase of Ukraine’s EU accession talks—reversing Orbán’s prolonged opposition to Kyiv’s application, which he deemed detrimental to Europe’s security and economic interests.
Nevertheless, upon arriving at the summit, Magyar made it clear that Budapest still holds reservations about the speed of the accession process now officially underway.
«We have concerns about proceeding with all additional negotiating chapters immediately after the first cluster’s opening. We are not alone; other member states share this view. We support an accession process based on merit and performance.»
A diplomat informed Euronews that Magyar and Zelenskyy briefly spoke one-on-one. Another diplomat expressed hope that Hungary will ease the way to open the remaining clusters for EU accession negotiations «sooner than expected».
Orbán also attends summit — convenes far-right allies
Former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was present in Brussels during the summit, gathering fellow leaders of the far-right Patriots for Europe faction on Thursday afternoon—his first international trip since his April election defeat ended his 16-year tenure.
«The loss of Fidesz does not alter what I view as a historically determined trend—that the rise of patriots in Europe will persist. No electoral defeat can reverse this,» Orbán told reporters in a Wednesday press conference.
Despite this, the impact was evident.
His defeat cost the Patriots faction a seat at the European Council, leaving the group now represented solely by Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.
The faction also lost its customary Brussels venue—the House of Hungary, a centrally located building acquired and refurbished by Orbán’s government during Hungary’s EU Council presidency in 2024.
Moving forward, Patriots will convene at the Brussels offices of their Belgian affiliate, the far-right Vlaams Belang party, which is a much smaller location.
At his press conference, Orbán publicly called on his successor to veto the EU’s forthcoming seven-year budget to recover roughly €2 billion Hungary forfeited after failing to meet EU Recovery Fund deadlines.
«If we veto the seven-year budget at the end of the year and make it clear they won’t release that two billion, then a new seven-year budget will be off the table. That is how they will deliver it. We expect the current Hungarian government to ensure not a penny is left behind,» Orbán stated.
Following his electoral loss, Orbán resigned his parliamentary seat but was re-elected as Fidesz party president for one additional year.