Orbán meets Meloni in Rome: Ukraine, Middle East, and EU Security on the agenda

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Monday, following his audience with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican. The discussions focused on the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as current European Union priorities and the continent’s evolving security landscape.

According to Meloni, the meeting offered an opportunity to review “the most important international issues of the day” — including the war in Ukraine, developments in the Middle East, and the European agenda. She added that they also addressed the new SAFE European security package, which aims to coordinate defense spending and strengthen collective security mechanisms across the EU.

Two different paths on the European Right

While both leaders belong to Europe’s conservative political spectrum, Orbán and Meloni represent two distinct approaches to right-wing governance within the European Union.

Meloni, leading Italy’s Brothers of Italy party, has taken a more pragmatic and centrist-leaning approach since coming to power. She supports NATO, maintains constructive engagement with EU institutions, and often seeks consensus with other European leaders — even while pursuing socially conservative and traditionalist policies at home.

Orbán, in contrast, has become the EU’s most outspoken national-conservative and illiberal figure. His government has clashed with Brussels over democratic standards, media freedom, and LGBTQ rights, while strengthening ties with Russia and China. He has repeatedly blocked or delayed EU military assistance to Ukraine and criticized Western sanctions, arguing for an alternative geopolitical strategy based on “sovereignty.”

Meloni and Orbán: Cooperation with distance