
Hungary will not become a puppet state of Brussels
In truth, this is just the newest chapter in an ongoing effort by the European Commission to dismantle the key achievements of Prime Minister Orbán's governments and impose foreign political control over Hungary.
What Brussels proposes under the guise of 'rule of law' is nothing less than a demand to open Hungary to foreign-funded political influence operations. The Commission wants civil society groups—particularly those backed by foreign donors and often aligned with anti-government agendas—to operate without restrictions. They would receive unchecked funding from abroad, bypassing Hungarian regulatory and transparency frameworks. Under a proposed directive on 'European cross-border associations,' such groups would enjoy immunity from national oversight while gaining access to Hungarian taxpayer funds.
This is not support for genuine civil society—it's an attempt to institutionalize a political pressure network in Hungary, managed from Brussels and bankrolled by interests opposed to Hungarian sovereignty. The same foreign-backed media outlets that serve these networks could also tap into public funds under this model, alongside their overseas financing.
Beyond media and NGOs, the rule of law report also foreshadows aggressive political targeting. The report implies support for Polish-style legal proceedings against conservative politicians and public figures—procedures that have already been used to intimidate political opponents elsewhere in the region. The goal is clear: silence voices that challenge Brussels' ideology and replace them with compliant actors like Péter Magyar.
Economically, the attack is no less severe. Brussels' economic recommendations—already visible in the European Semester—demand the dismantling of core protections implemented by PM Orbán's governments: abolishing utility price caps, scrapping interest rate and retail margin limits, removing homeownership support, ending windfall profit taxes, and cutting diesel subsidies for Hungarian farmers. Each of these steps would directly harm Hungarian families, small businesses, and the agricultural sector.
The political subtext is unmistakable. Despite whatever promises Péter Magyar may make at home, the European Commission has already written his program for him. And it includes fast-tracking Ukraine's EU accession by 2030, regardless of Hungary's position or interests.
Prime Minister Orbán's governments have consistently defended Hungary's independence—from resisting forced migration quotas to safeguarding economic sovereignty. These new moves from Brussels are a blatant attempt to replace Hungary's democratically chosen direction with policies dictated from abroad.
As the prime minister has often emphasized, Hungary's achievements must be protected. This is not the time to surrender sovereignty for vague promises or ideological conformity.
Hungarians must ask: do we want to be governed through external pressure and foreign-funded networks, or do we continue the path we have chosen—one of sovereignty, stability, and national interest?
The answer must be clear: we will not let Brussels dictate Hungary's future.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Budapest Times
8 hours ago
- Budapest Times
FM: EU must work with countries that strengthen bloc's competitiveness
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the European Union must work together with countries such as Andorra that do not threaten but strengthen the bloc's competitiveness. Minister Szijjártó told a joint press conference with Andorra counterpart Imma Tor Faus that Hungary and Andorra 'represent similar positions' regarding the problems that currently burden the world. 'Both have a vested interest in international politics returning to the basis of mutual trust since, failing that, there will be negative consequences for countries of a modest size,' a ministry statement quoted him as saying. 'When I visited Andorra last year, my goal was to prepare for the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union. Unfortunately, I must say that the symptoms of an ailing Europe at the time, such as the dangerous security situation, extreme energy security challenges and the dramatic decrease in competitiveness, are currently even worse,' he added. Minister Szijjártó said the EU was steadily weakening as a result of a series of mistakes by Brussels. The minister said both Hungary and Andorra had an interest in an EU that aided the performance of national economies instead of putting countries under 'political pressure'. 'Instead of suppressing national characteristics, it should strengthen them,' he added. The EU could grow stronger by strengthening ties with countries that improve cooperation with member states, he said, adding that Andorra was an 'excellent example' of this and the reason why Hungary urged the EU to finally sign the accession agreement, given that the talks are already completed. 'Clearly, Andorra's economic performance would contribute to the EU's economic performance,' he said.


Budapest Times
8 hours ago
- Budapest Times
State Secretary: EU must take action against forced conscription in Ukraine and the death of József Sebestyén
State Secretary Bence Rétvári said the European Union must take action against forced conscription in Ukraine and regarding the death of József Sebestyén. Before a meeting of the bloc's Justice and Home Affairs Council in Copenhagen on Tuesday, the parliamentary state secretary noted that migration would be the main topic of the meeting, where he would continue to press Hungary's case that its southern border fence 'is the solution' and 'Hungary will not accept illegal migrants'. In a video uploaded to his social media page, he said he would also raise Sebestyén's case since EU interior ministers should grasp that 'our Hungarian compatriot József Sebestyén was brutally beaten during forced conscription in Ukraine' as the case concerned an EU citizen as well as a Hungarian one. 'The Hungarian government has taken action; the European Union must follow suit,' he said. Regarding migration, he said ministers would be mulling 'innovative proposals for managing migration'. 'We have a 10-year innovative proposal: the southern border fence and the requirement that all procedures are carried out outside the territory of the EU. More and more people agreed with the Hungarian government on this score, he said. Yet the European Commission 'is still deaf to these proposals', preferring instead the forced distribution of migrants based on quotas, so that as many countries as possible agree to accept as many migrants as possible. Rétvári said only 9 out of the 27 member states had responded to the commission's call to accept migrants.


Budapest Times
8 hours ago
- Budapest Times
Foreign Minister says REPowerEU is ‘the Zelensky plan'
Minister Szijjártó said that banning Russian energy sources would multiply utility costs. Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Hungary strongly opposes the REPowerEU plan as it would ruin Hungarian energy security and competitiveness and branded REPowerEU as 'the Zelensky plan'. Attending a working breakfast of European Union member state ambassadors in Budapest, Minister Szijjártó also said that banning Russian energy sources would multiply utility costs. The minister told them the bloc faced huge challenges 'in a rapidly changing world,' such as illegal migration and the decline in European competitiveness, which had a severe impact on Hungary's export-oriented economy. Excluding the years of the pandemic, government incentives helped investments break records every year since 2014, and the European Commission needlessly curbed member states, he said, adding that Brussels should leave such investments to sovereign decision-making regarding the national finances. Since the EU has not inked a single investment protection agreement with third countries for a long time, the right to bilateral agreements should be returned to member states, he added. As far as energy deals are concerned, he said the issue was physical and did not impinge on other states. The EC's proposal would result in energy sources being shut down instead of being diversified, he added. 'Frankly, I don't care what the Russians think about our position. And that's the case generally. But nor do I care what Burkina Faso thinks or Australia for that matter.' 'We oppose REPowerEU because it goes against Hungary's interests,' he added. At an event organised by the holder of the rotating presidency, Denmark, Minister Szijjártó noted that Russian energy imports to Europe have shrunk by 85-90 percent. He said it was 'no longer true' that Moscow could use energy to blackmail the bloc and the EU had achieved its objectives in this regard, adding that the security of no single country should be imperilled by banning energy imports. He underlined that the elimination of Russian oil and natural gas sources would increase utility costs in Hungary several times over. 'We Hungarians can't be accused of not trying to diversify our resources,' he said, adding that as a landlocked country, Hungary was in a far tougher spot than others. Six of the country's networks have been interconnected with seven of its neighbours, he said, though lagging infrastructure investments by others mean that 'capacities are still insufficient'. Minister Szijjártó said criticism of Hungary might be valid had the country not done everything it could to boost diversification, but in fact it had spent billions and tens of billions of euros on interconnection. 'We ask for greater understanding,' he said. Addressing the issue of Ukraine's bid to become an EU member, he noted the Hungarian government's strong opposition, for which it has been subjected to 'serious attacks'. Many other member states blocked integration of the Western Balkans for many years, 'yet they aren't branded as puppets of the Russians…' he added.