Hungary has long been committed to supporting Serbia’s accession to the EU, but given the protracted migration and energy crises, it is also in Budapest’s vital interest to have a stable Belgrade government that is friendly towards Hungary and Hungarians. The SNS alliance has shown a strong willingness to maintain good relations, which is a promising sign for the future.

‘The fact is, however, that the continent’s current economic situation finds only a relatively small number of EU countries in a giving mood. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that the European Commission’s current proposal was not ‘realistic’ and that the Brussels-based body was asking too much. Similar comments have come from Berlin.’

Even if the Bundestag votes in favour of the tightening of the asylum law, deportations are not expected to increase significantly in Germany—according to the Interior Ministry, the number of deportations will rise by about 5 per cent as a result of the amendment.

The daily operation of the Hungarian railways is hampered by profound structural problems. It is not only a lack of sufficient funding but also the absence of a consistent and comprehensive development strategy that causes the ever-growing woes.

‘According to recent polls, neither United Right nor Civic Platform will be able to form a government on its own…Donald Tusk’s situation seems easier in that he may have a realistic chance of including both the aforementioned Lewica and the Third Way alliance in the future governing coalition. This does not mean, however, that it would be easy for him to govern with these parties, and indeed such multi-party coalitions—let us not forget that the KO is itself an alliance—are often not very stable and long-lived.’

It seems that even the most vocal supporters of energy sanctions do not want to give up Russian gas at all cost, which has led to some unusual but rather obvious solutions. Today, fossil fuels from Russia are being transported via proxies to pro-sanctions Western Europe. Also, despite loud promises, the vast majority of Western companies operating in Russia have not left the country at all, at least according to a Swiss study from 2022.

On the surface, the Slovak election seems to be about a single question: will Robert Fico, the country’s former prime minister, be able to return to power? However, even if he does triumph, he will be forced to enter difficult negotiations with multiple potential coalition partners.

The French and German political elites have apparently grown tired of the never-ending debates about the present and future of the European Union, which are impeding the integration goals they wish to see, and now want to force them to an end. In some ways, this would also mean a break with the ‘Europa auf Augenhöhe’ (‘Europe at eye level’) policy that made the EU so attractive in the 1990s, and it is to be expected that the ‘problematic’ member states of Central and Eastern Europe will not let this pass without a fight.

Kyiv stayed true to its doubtful reputation and promised ‘appropriate responses’ to the three V4 countries extending their ban on Ukrainian agri-food imports. ‘If the decisions of our neighbours are not neighbourly, Ukraine will respond in a civilized manner,’ Zelensky said.

The Budapest Treaty was a bilateral accord between Hungary and Czechoslovakia, aiming to establish the contractual framework for the construction of a complex waterworks system along the Hungarian–Czechoslovak section of the Danube. After Hungary unilaterally annulled the treaty signed on 16 September 1977, a complex dispute that has not been completely resolved to this day ensued.