Visegrad Group

Economic policy is subordinated to Hungary's political confrontation with the EU over Ukraine. Viktor Orbán blocked the €90bn EU loan package for Ukraine and Hungary stopped sending gas to Ukraine over a pipeline dispute. Poland's President Nawrocki also vetoed a law unlocking €44bn in EU defence loans.

• 10Hungary stops sending gas to Ukraine over pipeline dispute
• 7Hungary asks EU to suspend sanctions on Russian energy
• 3Polish President Nawrocki vetoes law unlocking €44bn in EU defence loans
• 3Zelenskyy says Druzhba pipeline could be restored ‘in month and a half’ as he hits back at Orbán
• 2Ukraine expects start of 90 billion EU loan next month, despite Hungary veto

Politics is defined by Hungary's Viktor Orbán leading a blockade of EU aid to Ukraine, which has triggered intense pressure from EU leaders. Orbán is consolidating a far-right alliance, receiving a public endorsement from Trump ahead of Hungarian elections, and framing his opposition as a defense of European sovereignty against pro-Ukraine elites.

• 13Hungary blocks EU loan to Ukraine as leaders vow to push it through
• 11European far-right leaders gather in Budapest to support Viktor Orbán
• 10Zelensky's threat against Orban draws condemnation from EU and Russia
• 9Trump endorses Viktor Orbán ahead of Hungarian parliamentary elections
• 8Hungary's Orban criticizes EU leadership and calls Ukraine a secondary problem

Security affairs are marked by bilateral tensions between Hungary and Ukraine, overshadowing other regional concerns. Hungary's Orbán ordered a probe into alleged Ukrainian wiretapping of a top diplomat's phone, while Poland conducted a separate human trafficking probe and foiled a cyberattack on a nuclear centre.

• 4Ukrainian Bank Workers Freed From Hungarian Detention
• 3Hungary's Orban orders probe into alleged wiretapping of minister over Russia links
• 3Top Hungarian diplomat’s phone tapped by Ukrainian intelligence — Orban
• 2Poland evacuates its troops from Iraq, minister says
• 2Poland puts air force on alert due to Russian activity

Society is polarized by pre-election mobilization in Hungary, which is the dominant tension across the group. Massive rival rallies were held in Budapest, with Orbán's 'Peace March' vowing to keep Hungary an 'island of security and calm,' while a separate mass rally in Prague targeted Andrej Babiš over democracy concerns.

• 7Massive rallies held in Budapest ahead of Hungary's April election
• 3Mass Prague rally hits Babis over democracy concerns
• 3Fico to work night shift at factory in solidarity with workers
• 3Viktor Orbán Vows to Keep Hungary an "Island of Security and Calm" at Massive "Peace March"
• 2John Oliver on Maga’s love for Viktor Orbán: ‘For them, Orbán is a blueprint’