Hungary has just wrapped up a busy week of diplomacy, with developments involving Ukraine, the Baltic states, the Visegrád Group and EU enlargement. But another significant meeting is already scheduled for Monday in Budapest – and a visit of this kind has not taken place in Hungary for nearly seven years.
The week took Orbán from Riga to Bratislava and also brought meetings with senior EU and OSCE officials. At the centre of several of the talks was a familiar question for Hungarian foreign policy: what comes next for Ukraine’s EU path, and what progress Budapest expects before supporting further steps.
Transcarpathia: Budapest says concrete steps have begun
Orbán said Ukraine had started incorporating some of its commitments on minority rights into legislation. From 1 September, she added, small educational institutions will also be preserved and financed, an issue with particular importance for the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia.
The foreign minister discussed the issue with Marta Kos, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, during the commissioner’s visit to Budapest on Friday. Orbán said Hungary would continue to link further progress in Ukraine’s accession process to concrete improvements in the rights of Transcarpathian Hungarians.
So who is coming to Budapest on Monday?
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will visit Hungary on Monday, when he is due to meet Orbán and other senior Hungarian officials.
According to both the Hungarian and German sides, this will be the first official visit by a German foreign minister to Budapest since 2019. Wadephul is expected to meet President András Baka and Orbán, as well as Economy Minister István Kapitány and representatives of German and Hungarian businesses.
The German Foreign Office has described the trip as an opportunity to open a “new chapter” in relations with Hungary. Berlin says the change of government in Budapest has created room for renewed political and economic cooperation, while European security and Russia’s war against Ukraine are also expected to feature in Monday’s talks.
The previous official visit by a German foreign minister took place on 4 November 2019, when Heiko Maas travelled to Budapest to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the lifting of the Iron Curtain, highlighting Hungary’s role in the events of 1989.
If you missed it: Hungary’s political season heats up: Magyar hits the road as Orbán declares ‘national resistance’
Hungary and Latvia restart political consultations
Orbán also travelled to Riga this week for talks with Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže. The two countries agreed to restart foreign and security-policy consultations that had been suspended since 2019. Preparations are also under way for a new Hungarian-Latvian business forum, while the two sides want to revive an earlier agreement on cooperation in space research.
Orbán wrote the planned agreement could cover space technology, Earth observation, quantum technology and next-generation 5G and 6G networks.
The Riga talks also covered European security, Ukraine, energy cooperation and EU enlargement. Latvia welcomed Hungary’s renewed participation in Baltic Air Policing and the two sides also discussed cooperation on energy storage and innovation.
Bratislava, the V4 and EU enlargement
Bratislava was another stop on Orbán’s diplomatic calendar. The foreign minister noted that she had travelled to the Slovak capital twice within two weeks: first for a V4+Japan foreign ministers’ meeting, and then for talks in a V4+Ireland format.
The discussions with the Irish side focused on the EU budget, competitiveness, migration and enlargement. Orbán said Central European countries have an interest in coordinating their positions on these issues, particularly as Ireland prepares to take over the rotating EU presidency.
She also discussed enlargement separately with Irish Minister of State Thomas Byrne, reiterating Hungary’s position that candidate countries should advance according to their actual performance.
For Orbán, the week therefore ends where the next one begins: back in Budapest. And after nearly seven years without an official visit by a German foreign minister, Monday’s meeting with Wadephul is likely to be one of the most closely watched diplomatic appointments of the week.
Read more from us: Temu, Shein and AliExpress lose ground in Hungary after new EU customs charge
