Hungarian PM Considers EU a Real Threat, Not Putin

Budapest - Hungary does not consider Russia a real threat. According to Hungary, the European Union is the real threat.

As reported by CNN on Sunday (2/15/2026), Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban made the remarks in a speech to supporters as his nationalist party ramped up its anti-EU campaign ahead of national elections.

With just eight weeks remaining until the April 12 vote, Orban and his Fidesz party face the most serious challenge since the right-wing populist leader reclaimed power in 2010. Most independent polls show Fidesz trailing the center-right Tisza party and its leader Peter Magyar, even as Orban campaigns on the unfounded premise that the EU would send Hungarians to their deaths in Ukraine if his party loses.

In his speech on Saturday (2/14), Orban compared the EU to the repressive Soviet regime that dominated Hungary for over 40 years and rejected the belief held by many European leaders that Russian President Vladimir Putin poses a threat to the continent’s security.

“We must get used to the idea that those who love freedom need not fear the East, but Brussels. Spreading fear about Putin is primitive and unserious. However, Brussels is a real reality and a threatening source of danger. This is a bitter truth, and we will not tolerate it,” he said, referring to the EU’s de facto capital in Belgium.

Orban has been a fierce opponent of military and financial aid to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion nearly four years ago. He has maintained close ties with Moscow while adopting an aggressive stance toward EU and NATO partners he portrays as warmongers. Last December, he said “it’s not clear who attacked whom” when tens of thousands of Russian troops flooded across Ukraine’s border in February 2022.

The Hungarian government has long been at odds with the EU, which has frozen billions of euros in funds for Budapest over concerns that Orban has been dismantling democratic institutions, eroding judicial independence, and overseeing widespread official corruption. In retaliation, Orban has increasingly acted as a spoiler in EU decision-making, routinely threatening to veto key policies such as providing financial support for Ukraine.

Ahead of the elections, he has increasingly portrayed the Tisza party as a puppet created by the EU to topple his government and serve foreign interests. The claim has been firmly denied by Tisza. Magyar, the party’s leader, has pledged to repair Hungary’s strained relations with its Western allies, revive its stagnant economy, and return the country to a more democratic path.

In addition to maintaining good relations with Putin, Orban has also praised US President Donald Trump. Orban has accused multinational corporations such as banks and energy companies of profiting from the war in Ukraine and conspiring with his political opposition to defeat him in the election.

“It is very clear that in Hungary, the oil business, the banking world, and the Brussels elite are preparing to form a government. They need someone in Hungary who will never refuse Brussels’ demands,” he said.

If his party wins a fifth consecutive majority in the elections, Orban pledged to continue his goal of cleansing Hungary of entities he says violate the country’s sovereignty. He then praised Trump, who has endorsed him ahead of the election, for creating an environment where “fake non-governmental organizations and bought-and-paid-for journalists, judges, and politicians” can be expelled.

“The new President of the United States has rebelled against the global liberal business, media, and political network, thereby increasing our chances. We too can do a lot and expel foreign influence from Hungary, along with its agents, that limits our sovereignty. Brussels’ repressive machine is still operating in Hungary. We will clean it out after April,” he said.