Polish FM calls out Szijjártó: "Looks like you're playing for the other team"

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Polish foreign minister calls out Hungary’s Szijjártó after Beijing trip

"Looks like you're playing for the other team, Peter," Radosław Sikorski said on X. 

The Polish foreign minister criticized his Hungarian counterpart for traveling to Beijing to watch the parade marking the 80th anniversary of China's victory in World War II from the Tiananmen Square tribune. Twenty-six heads of state attended the military parade at Xi Jinping's invitation, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and, from Europe, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.

Eurobarometer: 85% in EU support linking funds to rule of law, including most Hungarians

Hungarians remain supportive of closer European cooperation, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey.  88% said member states should take a more unified approach to global challenges, which is only slightly below the EU average of 90%. When asked about priorities for strengthening the bloc’s position in the world, Hungarians ranked competitiveness (36%) and food security and agriculture (35%) ahead of defence and security, which came third on 29%, the same level as energy independence and infrastructure.

The survey, commissioned by the European Parliament, was the first since the unveiling of a draft seven-year budget that will run from 2028. In Hungary, 82% said the EU needs more tools to tackle global challenges, higher than the bloc-wide average of 77%. Around four in five Hungarians backed increased financing for EU projects, although fewer strongly supported the idea compared with the EU average, despite Hungary being a net beneficiary. Hungarians also expressed relatively high support for introducing EU-specific revenue sources, ranking third among member states in favour of such measures.

The poll also highlighted nuanced views on the rule of law. Across the EU, 40% strongly agreed that access to funds should be tied to democratic principles, and 45% somewhat agreed. In Hungary, the figures were 21% and 61%, leaving only a small minority opposing it. This comes despite parts of the country’s EU funding being frozen over rule-of-law concerns, and follows comments this week by Hungary’s European affairs minister, János Bóka, who rejected extending such conditions in the next budget. Overall, 45% of Hungarians said they had a positive image of the EU, while neutrality towards the bloc was higher than anywhere else in the union, at 42%.

All EU states but Hungary back statement condemning Russia’s attack on Kyiv

Twenty-six EU member states backed a statement condemning Russia’s latest missile strikes on Kyiv, which killed at least 19 people, including four children, The Guardian reports. Hungary was the sole member state to withhold support. The statement, issued by the EU’s foreign policy chief, described the strikes as a breach of international law, deliberately targeting civilian sites, including a building housing the EU delegation. Estonia’s prime minister, Kaja Kallas, called the attack a clear violation. Moscow denied responsibility, with foreign minister Sergey Lavrov blaming "Ukrainian air defenses".

Hungary’s foreign ministry defended its stance, saying it could only support initiatives that advanced peace. “After a long time, negotiations between the United States and Russia have begun in Alaska, which finally brought us closer to peace,” it said in a statement to Telex. “Once there is peace, there will be no more bombing and no more needless casualties of war. Hungary is in favour of peace, so we can only support documents that will advance the cause of peace.”

EU leaders warn Trump about Hungary’s Russian oil dependence

Europe must stop buying Russian oil, Donald Trump emphasized at a summit meeting with European leaders, the White House confirmed, Reuters reports. It is unclear whether the US president was referring specifically to the purchase of Russian crude oil imports by Hungary or to European imports of Russian oil products from third countries (such as India). 

After the Paris summit, Ukrainian President Zelensky said the following on this matter: “Hungary and Slovakia are helping Russia’s war machine by buying its oil, and this must stop.”  In the EU, only Hungary and Slovakia purchase Russian crude oil, linked to MOL interests.

In recent weeks, Hungarian and Slovak oil imports have once again become a very sensitive issue after Ukraine repeatedly attacked the Russian Druzhba pipeline, halting deliveries to the two countries for several days. Hungary called this a Ukrainian provocation and a clear attack on Hungarian sovereignty.

Alexander Stubb, the Finnish president who has established a good relationship with Trump, spoke in more detail about this after the Paris summit. He said that at the summit, it was emphasized to Trump that only Hungary and Slovakia still use Russian oil in Europe. According to him, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also emphasized that Europe fully agrees with Trump: if we want to cut off the Russian military machine's main source of income, namely gas and oil exports, then we must also stop this in Europe, he said.

When asked what methods could be used to pressure Slovakia and Hungary to give up Russian oil, the Finnish president said that, in his opinion, this could be left to the EU. "It probably wouldn't hurt if Trump spoke to Orbán and Fico in these cases,"