Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar used his first official foreign trip this week to rebuild ties with Poland and revive regional cooperation within the Visegrad Group (V4), marking a sharp break with Viktor Orban’s foreign policy.
The visit to Kraków, Warsaw and Gdańsk came as Magyar’s government faces growing pressure at home over Ukrainian wheat imports and tries to push through sweeping constitutional reforms in Budapest.
Accompanied by Foreign Minister Anita Orbán, Magyar met with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw to repair relations strained under the previous Fidesz government over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“If Hungarian history was difficult, then Polish history was extremely difficult,” Magyar said alongside Tusk. “But Poland is still here … and Hungary is here too.”
Magyar invited Tusk, as well as the Czech and Slovak prime ministers, to a V4 summit in Budapest by the end of June. Tusk hailed Magyar’s election as a “fantastic victory” that restored hope for closer cooperation in Brussels.
The transition has not been entirely smooth. During a conference, a Polish spokesman twice mistakenly referred to Magyar as “Prime Minister Orbán”, underscoring the lingering shadow of Hungary’s former leader.
Magyar also confirmed that former Polish officials Zbigniew Ziobro and Marcin Romanowski, who were granted asylum in Hungary under Orban while facing corruption charges in Poland, left the country shortly before the government change.
“Hungary will not be a depository for internationally wanted criminals,” Magyar said.
Ukrainian wheat pressure
Magyar is also under domestic pressure after Hungary’s unilateral ban on Ukrainian agricultural imports expired along with decrees issued by the previous government.
Hungarian National Chamber of Agriculture (NAK) requested from the government to quickly restore restrictions, warning that cheap Ukrainian grain could undercut domestic producers.
In Ukraine, Magyar described Kiev as a victim of the war and reaffirmed its right to defend itself, while stressing the need for a long-term ceasefire.
He also linked Hungary’s support for the opening of Ukraine’s EU accession talks to guarantees for the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia.
Constitutional review
After meeting former Polish president Lech Wałęsa in Gdańsk, Magyar cut short a planned trip to Vienna to deal with urgent government business in Budapest.
Wednesday evening, Magyar’s The government of Tiza presented its first constitutional amendmentincluding an eight-year term for prime ministers.
The proposal would also pave the way for the dissolution of controversial state-backed foundations created under Orbán and the abolition of the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty, created by Fidesz in 2023.
(aw)
