Magyar says Tisza would join the EPP

Magyar's Tisza Party would "gladly" join the EPP if EU ends Article 7

Hungary's PM Péter Magyar has told Manfred Weber, president of the European People’s Party, that Hungary’s Tisza party would “gladly” join the centre-right European grouping once EU institutions close the Article 7 proceedings against Hungary. Magyar said the two discussed changes in Hungary since what he described as the end of publicly funded “hate campaigns”. Weber, according to Magyar, said supporting Hungary had always been important to him and that he had found Viktor Orbán’s smear campaigns against him personally difficult to bear.

Magyar also said Weber had offered to help find a solution to the €1m-a-day fine Hungary is paying over its asylum rules. He told Weber that Tisza would continue to protect Hungary’s borders and that, during negotiations on the EU’s next seven-year budget, he would seek to have the fines already imposed waived. Magyar said he would also meet European Council president António Costa in Budapest to discuss the EU’s new seven-year budget and challenges facing Europe.

Hungary blocks Ukraine's EU accession process for the third time

Hungary has blocked Ukraine’s EU accession process for a third time, refusing to approve the screening results for two negotiation clusters unless Kyiv takes further steps to protect the rights of its Hungarian minority. The decision, taken at an EU Council enlargement working group meeting on Tuesday, prevents the bloc from formally opening the clusters, which requires the unanimous support of all 27 member states. Cluster 2 covers the EU internal market, while Cluster 3 concerns competitiveness and inclusive growth.

The latest move follows earlier Hungarian objections to Ukraine’s accession negotiations, although Budapest has lifted its opposition to one cluster covering foreign and security policy. Hungary previously blocked technical work on several other clusters and has continued to oppose progress despite Magyar agreeing in June to an agreement with Ukraine on the educational, cultural, language and political rights of ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia.

Investigation launched into Orbán's social media contracts

The National Police Headquarters (ORFK) confirmed to Telex that it had accepted the complaint filed by the Prime Minister’s Office and had launched a criminal investigation on suspicion of embezzlement regarding Viktor Orbán’s social media contracts. No further information was disclosed.

The Prime Minister’s Office filed a complaint after reviewing the former prime minister’s most recent contracts(totaling 4 billion forints in public funds )related to his social media appearances. The owner of Triton Communications, the company awarded the contract without a public procurement process, is Fanny Kaminski, Orbán’s press advisor. Bertalan Havasi, Fidesz’s communications director, responded to the complaint by saying that Kaminski and his company were being “attacked for political reasons.”