MAGA pushes for Orban as UN Secretary General, Magyar says it would harm the organization

UK, France and Hungary would 'firmly oppose' Orban's nomination for leading the UN

Members of the Trump administration have expressed support for Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s former prime minister, for the post of UN secretary-general, according to the Wall Street Journal. Orbán, lost power in April after 16 years in office and could reportedly also count on backing from Russia and China, potentially giving him the support of three of the five permanent members of the UN security council, including the US. The WSJ reported that the US state department believed between eight and 10 of the council’s 15 members would support him. Diplomats cited by the Times said the UK and France, the two other permanent members with veto powers, would be firmly opposed.

Orbán’s reported candidacy is striking given his earlier criticism of the UN as a “paralyzed” institution. One theory is that the Trump administration could be seeking a compromise that would give Orbán immunity from prosecution in Hungary, where Péter Magyar’s new government has launched an anti-corruption investigation into officials from the Orbán era. Magyar has warned that appointing his predecessor to lead the UN would spell the end of the organization.

Hungary is looking to replace Rosatom in Paks project

Hungary is loooking to replace Russia’s Rosatom as the main contractor for the expansion of its Paks nuclear power plant, with the government already seeking out suppliers, Reuters reports. The project was awarded to Rosatom without a tender in 2014 by former PM Viktor Orbán and has become a politically sensitive and costly undertaking. Prime minister Péter Magyar’s government is expected to decide on its future later this year or early next year. Originally estimated to cost €12.5bn, the expansion had already cost Hungary more than €2bn by the time concrete was first poured in February. Rosatom said it was continuing work according to the agreed schedule and had received no formal notification that Hungary intended to terminate the contract. The company also said it saw no legal grounds for doing so.

The project faces several other complications. The original contract has been amended five times, with a sixth amendment prepared but not signed, while a 2025 ruling by the European Court of Justice overturned the European Commission’s approval of state aid for the expansion. Magyar’s pro-EU government remains committed to nuclear power as a way to meet rising electricity demand and balance intermittent renewable energy. In the meantime, Budapest is considering seeking a 20-year extension for the operating licences of Paks’s four existing Russian-built reactors, which expire between 2032 and 2037. Replacing Rosatom could leave Hungary liable for the €1.1bn already paid to the company, as well as potential penalties for breaking the contract.

Hungary plans budget cuts to pave way for euro

Hungary’s government hopes to put the country on a path towards euro adoption by 2032 by making significant spending adjustments early in its term, finance minister András Kármán told Reuters. PM Magyar’s first budget targets a deficit of 4.9% of GDP in 2027, down from an expected 7.5% this year, in what investors have welcomed as a positive first step. The government aims to bring the deficit below the EU’s 3% threshold by 2030, meeting a key condition for joining the euro. Kármán says the goal was not simply to reduce the deficit in the short term, but to make lasting changes that would bring Hungary closer to adopting the single currency. Those measures include limiting an income tax exemption for mothers and slowing the introduction of an extra month’s pension payments, both policies inherited from Orbán’s government. Magyar’s cabinet hopes that acting early will reduce the need for politically difficult cuts as the 2030 election approaches.

Kármán said a deficit below 3% by 2030 could allow Hungary to adopt the euro in 2032, although the government has not yet committed to a date. Next year, it plans to establish a working group with the central bank to prepare for joining Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM-2), the waiting stage before euro adoption, and develop a realistic timetable. Kármán said the priority was not to enter ERM-2 as quickly as possible, but to minimise the time spent in the mechanism before adopting the euro.