Hungary is seeking to join forces with the Czech Republic and Slovakia to form an alliance skeptical of Ukraine in the European Union, the chief political advisor to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told the Politiko portal.
According to him, Orban hopes to team up with Andrej Babiš, whose right-wing populist party won the recent parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic, as well as with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, to coordinate positions ahead of meetings of EU leaders, including holding consultations before the summits themselves.
Although a solid political alliance is still far away, its formation could significantly slow down EU efforts to financially and militarily support Ukraine, the Brussels portal estimates.
"I think it will happen - and it will be increasingly visible," said Balazs Orban, a political advisor to the Hungarian prime minister, when asked about the possibility of the alliance, skeptical of Ukraine, starting to act as a bloc in the European Council.
"That worked very well during the migrant crisis. That's how we were able to resist," he said, recalling the so-called Visegrad Four (V4) group, which consisted of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland, at a time when the eurosceptic Law and Justice party was in power in Warsaw.
The then Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki led the alliance as its largest member, and the "V4" group promoted "family" policies, as well as strict control of the EU's external borders, opposing any mandatory relocation of migrants between member states.
The Visegrad Four fell apart after Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine, as Poland advocated a tough, "hawkish" stance towards Moscow, while Hungary took the opposite course, Politiko reminds.
The new Visegrad Alliance would now have three members, not four. The current Polish center-right prime minister, Donald Tusk, is a staunch supporter of Ukraine and is unlikely to enter into any alliance with Orban.
Fico and Babiš, however, share the Hungarian leader's views on Ukraine, calling for dialogue with Moscow instead of economic pressure. Babiš has been criticized for publicly expressing skepticism about further European aid to Kiev, and the current Czech foreign minister warned in an interview with Politiko that Babiš, as a member of the European Council, would act as Orbán's "puppet."
Still, it could be some time before any version of the Visegrad alliance is re-formed. Although he was re-elected as Slovakia’s prime minister in 2023, Fico has not yet formally teamed up with the Hungarian leader on specific policy areas. Babiš, meanwhile, has yet to form a government following his party’s election victory.
Hungary is seeking to expand its political alliances in Brussels and beyond the European Council, said Balazs Orban.
According to him, the Hungarian prime minister's party, Fidesz, which is part of the far-right Patriots for Europe group, could expand its partnership in the European Parliament. He listed the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists group, the far-right Europe of Sovereign Nations group, and "some left-wing groups" as potential allies.
Mainstream parties, such as the center-right gathered in the European People's Party, could sooner or later turn against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, thereby collapsing the centrist majority that supported her re-election, the adviser said.
"So, this reconstruction (of the Visegrad Four) is underway. We have the third largest parliamentary group in the European Parliament. We have a network of think tanks, which is strongly present here in Brussels, and also has a transatlantic dimension. And we are looking for partners, allies on every issue," Orban said.
The Hungarian prime minister, who has been in power for 15 years, will face a re-election battle next year. According to a survey by Politika, the opposition party Tisza, led by Peter Magyar, is currently more popular than Orban's Fidesz.
When asked about the upcoming election campaign, his adviser said it would be "difficult, as always," accusing Brussels of what he called "an organized and coordinated effort to try to overthrow the Hungarian government," which, according to him, includes "political support for the opposition."
The European Commission, however, states that the measures to withhold funds from Hungary stem from Budapest's failure to comply with EU law, and not from political motives.
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