Brussels vs Belgium: Commission says that if Belgium won't sign off on a €140bn loan to Ukraine against Russian assets, EU countries will need to find up to €5.6bn a year to service a loan raised on the open market. @bmoens.bsky.social & I got the document so you don't have to on.ft.com/47LzdiM

Stakeholders described a severely restricted media environment within which independent journalism operates, while also highlighting the deep political polarisation shaping the run-up to the expected April 2026 elections

What he doesn't buy, his American buddies will shut down. PM Orbán, who is on his way to Washington, has already received his first gift from Trump: the closure of Radio Free Europe in Hungary. The reason? "Undermining staunch allies does not serve the American people." @rferl.org.web.brid.gy

💥🇷🇺 Russian Orthodox bishop Hilarion (Grigory Alfeyev), Patriarch Kirill’s ex–No. 2, is seen here harassing his young assistant George Suzuki — who shared the video with @denikn.cz. Hilarion served in Budapest, cozying up to Viktor Orbán, now based in Karlovy Vary. More: denikn.cz/1880250/lezl...

Great news, my report on the Rule of Law situation in Hungary has just been approved by the LIBE Committee! Our message is clear: the Rule of Law in Hungary has deteriorated on all fronts, and this has been made possible by the lack of decisive action by the Commission and the Council.

‼️The EP's patience has run out. In a resolution to be adopted today, the LIBE Committee states that the EU Council (=Member States) itself is violating the rule of law by delaying further action against #Hungary under Article 7 procedure 🧵

The commission is working on proposals that would include more efficient mechanisms to suspend rights or benefits if core values are violated. A country could potentially be kicked out the club in case of repeated breaches.

“There’s a combination of economic threats, as well as very personal delegate-level threats, including threats to visas.” “They went from delegation to delegation . . .threatening them. Telling them to go back & speak to their capitals, warning what would happen if they didn’t change their minds”.

Czech Eurosceptic Babiš to agree coalition deal with far-right on.ft.com/4oNuWST

“Mr President, your response to Viktor Orbán saying he will ask for exemption from US sanctions on Russian oil?” “He has asked for exemption but we haven’t granted one. He has. He is a friend of mine. He has asked for exemption. What else?” (at 4’10)

Do you have any idea who owns Indamédia, which, as a result of the transaction, will acquire a number of popular media outlets, including the most widely read tabloid? Fidesz, of course, through its affiliated businessmen. Thank you, Ringier! 🙏🏻

According to @vsquare.bsky.social, the Netherlands is testing the member states to see whether they would support Article 7 proceedings against #Slovakia for systematic violations of the rule of law. This would require the support of one-third of the 27 countries. But according to the article… 2/1

Deniz Horzum 😍

Former Irish PM Leo Varadkar told @euractiv.com he regrets not challenging Viktor #Orbán on #LGBTQI rights. He’s not alone — leaders have long avoided taking him on, always finding a reason not to. For Varadkar, it was the Brexit deal. For others, it’s something else 🤐

I wish @franstimmermans.groenlinkspvda.nl were sitting across from Viktor Orbán at the European Council table. He’s the only high-ranking EU politician who truly held PM Orbán to account publicly - sharp, principled, fearless. 👀All eyes on the Dutch election tonight. 🇳🇱🇪🇺

US President Donald Trump plans to meet Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Nov. 8, according to a person familiar with the matter.

While Europeans express outrage over the sacking of American talk show hosts, maybe they should spare a few minutes worrying about intensifying attacks on media freedom and independent journalists right here in Europe. Alarming developments in Italy f.ex: ipi.media/melonis-ital... #Francesdibi

“The sheer commitment of the European civil service to find a way to keep Ukraine afloat in its perilous battle with Russia is on full display this week in Brussels, where everyone has gone on holiday.” 😂👌

The Guru Gobind Singh Refinery in Punjab, a major oil refinery co-owned by the steel tycoon’s Mittal Energy, received at least four crude shipments worth almost $280mn this year. The oil was transported on the US-blacklisted vessels between July and September from the Arctic port of Murmansk.

A narco-state is characterized by an illegal economy, corruption and violence — conditions that Belgium fulfills, in the judge’s opinion.

US Amb to NATO: “Our expectation is that countries like #Hungary, Turkey & Slovakia, that continue to buy Russian oil & gas, will come up with a plan & execute a plan that weans them off of Russian oil & gas. Hungary, unlike many of their neighbors, has not made any plans or made any active steps”.

Over 2/3 of the EU’s member countries went backwards in this year’s Rule of Law Index, with Slovakia and #Hungary recording the sharpest declines. Bulgaria and Hungary were the EU’s worst performers in the index, compiled by the World Justice Project and previewed by @politico.eu

Opinion: Donald Trump’s $300mn-ish ballroom extension is almost twice the size of the entire existing White House. It’s like adding a conservatory twice the size of your house. Then there’s the optics of building a ballroom in the middle of a government shutdown... on.ft.com/43Ek6q6

👇🙏🏻👏

Donald Trump posts a video of himself wearing a crown as he flies a jet with "King Trump" written in gold on it, dumping shit onto protesters in American cities, which rather makes the protesters point for them.

In response to HuffPost’s query about who suggested Budapest for the Trump-Putin summit, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded, “Your mom did,” and White House communications director Steven Cheung replied: “Your mom.” That's the style, folks! Not in the pub. In the White House.

“Hungarians are proud that Trump and Putin are meeting in Budapest. Let's be glad it's not in Bucharest”, says a colleague, quoting a Romanian diplomat and former culture minister. #BudapestSummit #TrumpPutinOrban

Trump and Orbán to share the next Nobel Peace Prize 😂

Behold the miracle! Hungary has joined the EU declaration in which member states stand up for "civil society organisations and human right defenders who remain an essential element of the system of checks and balances", and emphasise the importance of the freedoms of expression and association 😳

In a new 3-part Norwegian doc on Jens Stoltenberg - just aired in the Belgian TV - PM Orbán asks the NATO chief in Budapest if he wants to lead the EU Commission. “I can’t, Norway’s not in the EU”, he says. Orbán sighs: “We have a lot of problems with them…” 👀 @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu, take notes

Parliamentary records show that 59 MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) in the 720-strong assembly are sitting on committees or working on policy areas that are related to their paid side activities, FT analysis suggests. on.ft.com/47n31Dm

"We call on Ukraine to refrain from further attacks on the oil pipeline to Hungary and not to jeopardise the security of our country's energy supply!" Who could forget HUN FM Szijjártó's statement after the August attack on the Druzhba oil pipeline? Perhaps he should have protested to his 🇺🇸 friends?

The American writer and critic Susan Sontag once described Krasznahorkai, who cites Kafka as an inspiration, as the “master of the apocalypse”. Steve Sem-Sandberg, one of the Nobel committee members said that Krasznahorkai was now “more in tune with the times” than before

🇭🇺 Huge day for Hungarian literature: László Krasznahorkai has won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature! 👏👏👏 #NobelPrize #Literature

🚨 BREAKING: The European Commission will probe reports that Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán's spies targeted EU officials in Brussels. Read the developing story: ow.ly/vSbA50X93ss

NEU: Wie Ungarns Spione in Brüssel gegen die EU arbeiteten. Unsere Recherche mit @tijd.be und @direkt36.bsky.social zeigt erstmals, wie der ungarische Auslandsgeheimdienst EU-Beamte ins Visier nahm - und aufflog. Hier geht's zum Text im SPIEGEL www.spiegel.de/ausland/eu-w...

There is a certain sense of trepidation in Oslo over Trump’s potential retaliation with tariffs or other measures if he is not the winner on Friday

I still need to watch this myself, but the newest innovation from Orbán's workshop is a movie about the 1241-42 Mongolian invasion that killed almost half of Hungary's population, depicting Batu Khan as a peacenik converted by wise Hungarian leaders and a papal legate as a scheming Western traitor.

‼️Ilaria Salis' immunity is not waived, the EP has decided.

"What you see in France is, of course, what happens to a country when the extremes are fighting over each other, and there doesn't seem to be a center anymore. And without a center, you see what's happening to a country". @baseickhout.bsky.social is spot on about the situation in #France

The initiative, championed by the Czech Republic, is part of a fresh set of sanctions being drawn up by Brussels in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The package requires unanimous support to be adopted. Hungary, the last country opposed to the measure, has dropped its veto

Mind-blowing figures: ☝️ The 100s of billions of dollars companies are investing in AI now account for an astonishing 40% share of US GDP growth this year ☝️ AI companies have accounted for 80% of the gains in US stocks so far in 2025 ☝️ The wealthiest 10% of the population own 85% of US stocks 2/1

“Where were you back then, Alice Weidel, Viktor Orbán, [Matteo] Salvini, when von der Leyen was fighting for farmers?” Manfred Weber, the EPP chief, called out the far-right group for criticizing the U.S. trade deal sealed by von der Leyen. 2/1

I travelled to Kyiv with European officials, where they highlighted the need for Ukraine to implement reforms while they work on overcoming Hungary’s opposition to Ukraine progressing on accession negotiations. There are many challenges ahead. Story: www.reuters.com/world/europe...

Sound familiar, Hungarians?

Donald Trump has nominated Benjamin Landa as US ambassador to Budapest. Landa is an influential Orthodox Jewish businessman in New York and a supporter of Roger Stone, Trump's former advisor, 444.hu reports

Angela Merkel gave a rare interview to Hungary’s independent Partizan youtube channel during her recent Budapest visit. While careful with her words (as always), one moment stood out: she confused Article 7 proceedings with the EU’s conditionality mechanism 😲 2/1

“President Trump’s so-called proposed ‘compact’ is nothing short of a hostile takeover of America’s universities. It would impose strict government-mandated definitions of academic terms, erase diversity, & rip control away from campus leaders to install government-mandated conservative ideology.”