Hungary’s worst fears coming true? The expert warns about the true line of the new government

Hungary’s new foreign minister Anita Orbánin recent statements on Russia have raised eyebrows in the European Union and academic circles.

Orbán outlined Hungary’s new, Péter Magyarin led government to maintain relations with its “important partner” Russia when speaking to the European Affairs Committee of the Hungarian Parliament.

“Russia is still an important partner due to its regional role, but the relationship with it cannot be based on unilateral dependence. Hungary strives to create a system of relations between two sovereign states that is transparent and based on mutual interests,” he said.

News agency Bloomberg according to information, the Magyar government is also already on a collision course with the European Commission because it plans to continue buying Russian energy.

Hungary’s new Minister of Economy and Energy Captain István has said that the country wants to diversify its energy imports, but still does not want to give up Russian energy.

“We don’t want to wean ourselves off Russian energy, we want to stand on several legs. We have two oil pipelines, and we have to use them. We always have to get energy from the cheapest and most reliable sources,” says Kapitány, who previously worked as Shell’s director in Hungary.

An analysis company that served as Hungary’s permanent representative to the UN in 2010-2014 Kinstellarin advisor and researcher of the European Leadership Network Balázs Csuday reminds of the background of the current Prime Minister Péter Magyar when evaluating the country’s new government and its policies. Magyar was an ex-prime minister Viktor Orbánin a member of the far-right Fidesz party before founding the Tisza party he now leads.

Csuday points out in his analysisthat even though Magyar has made it clear that Hungary is striving for a more cooperative relationship with the European Commission, it does not mean that Hungary will give up emphasizing national interests or completely return to the political orientation that prevailed before 2010.

“Magyar has repeatedly emphasized that Hungary’s interests remain at the center of the government’s policy. Magyar represents a political change, but not necessarily a complete ideological reorganization. Hungary is unlikely to become an uncritical supporter of EU integration, even if relations with European institutions improve significantly,” he writes.

The same point has already been raised by the Hungarian expert of Eurasia Group, which analyzes political risks Orsolya Raczovawhich has reminded, among other things, the voting behavior of Tisza MEPs.