Hungary’s foremost foreign policy priority will be to restore trust, rebuilding the country’s standing within both the European Union and NATO, Anita Orbán, the foreign minister-designate, told Parliament’s Committee on European Affairs at her pre-appointment hearing on Monday. She talked about how the new Tisza government would like to unlock frozen EU funds, tackle migration issues, what the EU demands, and whether Hungarian troops could be deployed to Ukraine under the EU’s flag.
Securing the release of frozen EU funds is paramount
The Tisza Party politician stressed that one of Hungary’s most pressing national concerns is the recovery of withheld European Union funds. The task, she said, is to regain lost confidence and meet the necessary conditions to unlock resources rightfully due to Hungarians.
She noted that the EU expects Hungary to achieve objectives that voters themselves endorsed on 12 April. These include ensuring an independent judiciary, maintaining transparent and verifiable public procurement processes, preventing corruption cases from being dismissed on political grounds, guaranteeing the transparent use of EU funds, and ensuring that public money retains its public character.
Hungary will not be an obstacle
Echoing a phrase once favoured by the former prime minister—that Hungary could act as a “spoke in the wheel” of the European Union when opposing what Viktor Orbán deemed harmful processes—Orbán outlined a new foreign policy direction in which Hungary would instead seek to become a driving force within the bloc. The use of veto power as a blunt instrument, she indicated, would cease. Should Prime Minister Péter Magyar resort to it, it would be for sound reason.
She argued that cooperation with the European Union is not detrimental, nor does Brussels demand that Hungary bow unprincipled to external dictates. Rather, she said, the EU has asked only for the following in exchange for releasing frozen funds: an independent judiciary; clean and verifiable public procurement; transparent use of EU resources; and the safeguarding of the public nature of state funds.
According to Orbán, voters have granted a historic mandate to implement these measures and thereby secure the funds owed to Hungary.
Migration and the war in Ukraine
Responding to questions, Orbán said that the daily €1 million fine imposed on Hungary over migration must be brought to an end. This, she suggested, would require allowing asylum seekers arriving at Hungary’s borders to submit applications for refugee status. She added that the EU’s migration pact does not entail mass immigration into Hungary, but rather mutual assistance among member states facing significant migratory pressure—whether through accepting a limited number of migrants or offering financial or logistical support.
What we know so far about Anita Orbán
In response to opposition MPs, she made clear there is no intention for Hungarian troops to set foot on Ukrainian soil under any circumstances.
On the EU’s SAFE loan facility for development projects in Hungary, she said the European Commission is still assessing the Hungarian proposal, which the Tisza leadership has yet to review.
Committee backs Anita Orbán
Orbán appeared before the Committee on European Union Affairs, which subsequently voted on her suitability for ministerial office. Six members supported her, while two abstained.
Last Thursday, Orbán travelled to Rome alongside Péter Magyar to attend talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Magyar has previously stated that, as prime minister, his first official visit would be to Warsaw, followed by Vienna, and then Brussels. He has held office officially since last Saturday.
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