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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his ruling Fidesz party face a significant challenge in upcoming elections, with polls showing the opposition Tisza party, led by Péter Magyar, widening its lead. Orbán has accused Ukraine of financing the Hungarian opposition and labeled a European Union plan for Ukraine's accelerated accession a 'declaration of war' on Hungary. Separately, tens of thousands gathered in Prague to show support for Czech President Petr Pavel, a rally organized in response to a public dispute between the president and the country's foreign minister. A deputy speaker of Slovakia's parliament stated the country has overcome threats of destabilization, without specifying their nature.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Budapest, meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Rubio expressed that Orbán's success is important to US interests and supported his re-election bid, with Trump publicly endorsing Orbán as a 'true friend'. Rubio also traveled to Slovakia to meet another political leader aligned with Trump. Concurrently, Orbán has sharply criticized Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelensky, threatening to veto a major 90-billion-euro EU loan package for Ukraine and blocking the EU's 20th package of sanctions against Russia and financial aid. He accused the EU of being a bigger threat to Hungary's sovereignty than Russia. In response, other EU members criticized Hungary's use of its veto, with a Lithuanian foreign minister calling for rule changes to stop its 'abuse'. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited Kyiv in a show of support for Ukraine, highlighting EU divisions. Separately, the U.S. ambassador to Poland cut off contact with the speaker of the Polish parliament after the speaker made critical remarks about Trump.
3 topics | 48 sources
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his ruling Fidesz party are facing a significant challenge in upcoming elections. Polls show the opposition Tisza party, led by Péter Magyar, has widened its lead over Fidesz. Orbán has accused Ukraine of financing the Hungarian opposition and called a European Union plan for Ukraine's accelerated accession a 'declaration of war' on Hungary. Meanwhile, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has called for the EU to begin direct peace talks with Russia.
A deputy speaker of Slovakia's parliament stated that the country has overcome threats of destabilization. The official did not specify the nature of these threats or when they occurred.
Tens of thousands of people gathered in Prague to show their support for Czech President Petr Pavel. The rally was organized in response to a public dispute between the president and the country's foreign minister.
10 topics | 377 sources
Feb 28 — Feb 27
Hungary blocks a major European Union loan and new sanctions against RussiaHungary, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, used its veto power to block a 90-billion-euro European Union loan package for Ukraine. Orbán also blocked a new, 20th package of EU sanctions against Russia. Orbán linked the vetoes to a dispute over the Druzhba oil pipeline, claiming Ukraine has not repaired damage to the section that supplies Hungary. In response, EU leaders accused Hungary of undermining support for Ukraine and are reportedly considering ways to work around the veto. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said the loan would happen 'one way or the other'. The blockages occurred just before the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The EU failed to approve the new Russia sanctions package and the financial aid, leaving the measures in limbo as discussions continue.
Feb 26
Central European leaders call for Ukraine peace talks and criticize EUHungarian and Polish officials have publicly called for peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. They criticized the European Union for hindering these efforts. Slovakia's leader also suggested his country could host such talks.
Feb 11
Poland is angry after a Ukrainian official called a World War II massacre a myth