The prime minister has accused the EU leadership of seeking to undermine his government<\/p>\n
Hungary should fear the EU, not Russia, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned, arguing that the bloc poses a \u201cdirect threat\u201d to his country\u2019s sovereignty. In his annual state-of-the-nation address on Saturday, he said Brussels\u2019 \u201coppressive machinery\u201d is attempting to steer the upcoming parliamentary elections against his government.
\nThe vote is scheduled for April 12. Recent polls suggest a tight race between Orban\u2019s ruling Fidesz party and the opposition led by former party member Peter Magyar. Orban accused Magyar\u2019s party of acting under Brussels\u2019 influence, which he said employs \u201ccensorship, intervention, and manipulation\u201d to undermine his government.
\n\u201cWe must come to terms with the idea that those who love freedom should not be afraid of the East, but rather of Brussels,\u201d Orban said. \u201cFear-mongering about [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is primitive and unserious. Brussels, however, is a palpable reality and a direct threat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
\u2018Annul\u2019 \u20ac10 billion for Hungary \u2013 top EU court official<\/p>\n
Orban was referring to claims from Kiev\u2019s backers that Russia could attack the bloc after the Ukraine conflict concludes \u2013 a scenario that Moscow has dismissed as \u201cnonsense.\u201d
\nOrban accused Brussels of manipulating previous elections across the EU and pledged to push out \u201cforeign influence that limits our sovereignty together with its agents\u201d ahead of the April election, which he has framed as a choice between \u201cwar or peace.\u201d
\nOrban has been one of the most vocal critics of EU policies, particularly its continued support for Kiev. He has also opposed Ukrainian membership in the EU, warning that Brussels\u2019 policies risk dragging the bloc into a direct war with Russia.
\nHis stance has angered Brussels, which is reportedly considering easing the accession criteria for Ukraine to bypass Hungary\u2019s opposition. Media reports\u00a0suggest that EU officials see the upcoming election as an opportunity to neutralize Orban.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Zelensky fat-shames Orban in public insult<\/p>\n
Orban\u2019s refusal to back Kiev has drawn repeated attacks from Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, who sees EU accession as a key post-conflict security guarantee.
\nSpeaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Zelensky blasted Orban, saying thanks to Ukraine, he can \u201cthink about how to grow his belly, not how to grow his army\u201d to counter the perceived \u2018Russian threat\u2019. Orban responded on X that remarks like these are \u201cprecisely why [Ukraine] cannot become a member of the EU.\u201d
\nOrban has received steady backing from US President Donald Trump, who endorsed the Hungarian leader on Truth Social on Friday as a \u201ctruly strong and powerful leader with a proven track record of delivering phenomenal results.\u201d Trump\u2019s comments came ahead of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio\u2019s visit to Hungary on Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The prime minister has accused the EU leadership of seeking to undermine his government Hungary should fear the EU, not Russia, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned, arguing that the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29021,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t