The EU is going through difficult times, with two powerful enemies closing in and trying to undermine its autonomy in every area. One is Vladimir Putin's Russia, which, since the invasion of Ukraine, has not stopped threatening the European space, even militarily. The other is Trump and his administration, who have not stopped showing contempt for the EU and threatening it economically and even militarily, despite being historical allies. And, as if that weren't enough, there are the internal enemies, the main one being, and this is not too surprising, Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister, who has not stopped throwing a wrench in the works of EU initiatives, especially those related to European support for Volodymyr Zelensky's Ukraine.
It might seem, then, that there is little new in the information published this weekend by the American newspaper The Washington Post about Orbán's ties with Putin. But yes. What the newspaper reports is extremely serious. It explains that Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, passed information to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in the quiet corners of closed-door EU meetings so that he would know in real time not only what was being discussed but also the various positions and proposals that existed. Furthermore, according to the American newspaper, he had given access to hackers Russians were found on the servers of his ministry, which allowed them access to highly privileged and secret information. Naturally, the EU has demanded explanations for this betrayal from Budapest, which so far denies everything. But Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is so convinced of this that he stated in a tweet that this was the reason he practically avoided discussing anything relevant in meetings when Hungarian representatives were present.
Hungary holds elections on April 12, and the polls are not favorable for Orbán, who could lose the government to fellow conservative Péter Magyar. His allies, of course, have mobilized. According to the Washington PostRussian intelligence services were proposing a staged assassination attempt against Orbán, which, as happened in Trump's case, would allow him to reverse the polls and regain the electorate's favor. Furthermore, the United States also sees Orbán as its main ally in Europe and supports him wholeheartedly, both personally through Donald Trump, who has made explicit videos, and through high-ranking officials in his administration, such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who traveled to Budapest to support "one of our own." Yesterday, a summit of the Patriots for Europe group, led by Santiago Abascal and supported by Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini, was held in Budapest to also support Orbán. The media and social media campaign that will take place from now until April 12 to reverse the polls—or to challenge the results if Orbán loses—will be intense and difficult to combat. Carme Colomina explained the other day that the immediate future of Europe will likely be decided this April in Budapest. Therefore, the actions against this betrayal must be decisive, and it is essential to begin considering EU reform with the utmost urgency to prevent figures like Orbán from sabotaging it from within. And there is a sense of urgency.
