Hungary: When Internal Sabotage Enables External Interference
What the EU should learn from Viktor Orbán’s disloyalty to better defend itself. A commentary by Sylvie Goulard
U.S. Vice President JD Vance traveled to Budapest to support Viktor Orbán on the eve of the upcoming parliamentary elections on April 12. On this occasion, despite the war with Iran, President Donald Trump took the time to intervene by phone at a campaign rally to express his "love" for the Hungarian Prime Minister.
The official U.S. support for Viktor Orbán’s obstructionist efforts within the European Union institutions constitutes serious interference.
When an American comes to tell Hungarian voters that they must "choose their future without foreign forces telling them what to do," it is surreal. What, in this case, are the foreign forces meddling in the election?
Europeans are perfectly capable of choosing their own leaders, especially when the outcome of an election determines their future, that of Ukrainians, and the security of all of Europe. Indeed, Viktor Orbán, an ally of Vladimir Putin, is blocking the disbursement of €90 billion in aid that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky desperately needs to resist Russian attacks.
By openly violating the principle of "loyal cooperation" enshrined in the treaties (Article 4.3 TEU), the Hungarian government is endangering human lives.
We did not build Europe to end up here.
After signing an unbalanced trade agreement—indeed, an indecent one—with the United States, after agreeing to replace our dependence on Russian fossil fuels with supplies of hydrocarbons derived from the polluting exploitation of American shale gas, and after reading in the U.S. National Security Strategy that the European Union is now a target of the United States, how much longer will we accept being treated as lackeys?
How much longer will we make life easier for foreign powers that seek to destroy us, whether through digital means, disinformation, interference, or even arms?
Let us begin by dispelling the misrepresentations in the statements of the U.S. Vice President and in all the MAGA propaganda that, through nationalist parties, is flooding the European political debate.
Firstly, the EU is not a "bureaucracy" that surreptitiously strips states of their sovereignty. Hungarians are adults who, of their own free will, chose to join the European Union. Membership is voluntary, approved through the democratic procedures of the country in question.
Having worked with then President of the European Commission Romano Prodi to prepare the accession of Central and Eastern European countries to the EU ahead of the 2004 enlargement, I can testify to the European commitment of the leaders of these countries, as well as the youth who saw in it, rightly, the hope of a better life.
Prodi would humorously ask those who compared sharing sovereignty in the EU to the Soviet yoke: "Remind me when you applied to join the Warsaw Pact?"
The founding fathers of the European Community had a noble political goal: to build peace, foster cooperation among peoples who were once enemies, when others would have perpetuated the cycle of vengeance and hatred. This project deserves better than scorn. It is a major achievement for humanity. But that is precisely what troubles those who build their business on nationalism and the sale of weapons.
Secondly, the door is open for those who wish to leave the EU, as Brexit has shown. But Viktor Orbán, like most nationalists, is careful not to embrace this option. They have seen the price paid by the British. They know what they gain, in hard cash and international prestige, by staying in the EU.
However, they deceive voters because merely not being "against" Europe is not enough to make it thrive.
Thirdly, European institutions are democratic. The EU’s highest political body, the European Council, consists of legitimate representatives from the member states, as does the Council of Ministers. The European Parliament, directly elected by European citizens, holds the Commission accountable.
In 1999,the Commission led by Jacques Santer resigned under the threat of a censure motion by MEPs. In 2019, I myself was prevented from joining the Commission after hearings in the European Parliament.
I experienced firsthand how far the control of elected representatives goes, and I respected their decision, even though, in this case, the vote of rejection was based on slander, as the legal proceedings against me resulted in two decisions to dismiss the case that fully cleared me.
The constant criticism of "bureaucracy" is nothing but nonsense. Bureaucracy also exists at the national and even local levels. Who really cares?
This easy criticism stems from the fact that national representatives rarely take responsibility, upon returning home, for the concessions they had to make in Brussels.
Finally, the respect shown by the Trump administration for the U.S. Congress, and for the country’s institutions as a whole—starting with the Federal Reserve, the judiciary, or certain agencies supposed to be independent—is not such that we should listen to JD Vance’s pronouncements as gospel or as unassailable constitutional expertise.
In reality, what the upcoming elections in Hungary reveal is the nervousness of the international alliance of nationalists and the corrupt elites.
In recent years, Mr. Orbán has built a highly lucrative business for himself and his clan, consisting notably of selling his ability to cause disruption within the EU to third powers—Russia, the United States, or China (which has invested more in Hungary than in any other member state). He has turned the country into the gateway for political infiltration into EU institutions and economic entryism into the single market.
We can no longer tolerate EU governments forgetting their duty of loyal cooperation. This is not idealism, but the defense of our interests as much as our values: by abusing their veto power, they endanger our security and our credibility vis-à-vis third countries.
There are precedents where the European Council has managed to bypass obstruction.
In June 2025, the IEP Bocconi annual event commemorated the Milan European Council of June 1985, during which the Italian presidency circumvented the opposition of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher by deciding, by majority, to open negotiations on what would become the Single European Act.
The Iron Lady eventually rejoined the discussion table. And even if the precedents are not relevant, we must find a way to ostracize all Viktor Orbáns—present and future—from the EU, even if it means letting the Court of Justice rule on their habitual abuse of rights.
This is the "Europe of Nations" sold by MAGA and their European nationalist friends, barricaded behind the veto. It is a cut-price Europe made by governments that, under the pretext of building bridges with the world’s great powers, sell themselves to the highest bidder.
IEP@BU does not express opinions of its own. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the authors.
