Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Dublin, with the two leaders discussing a possible meeting in person. Magyar said the meeting could take place in Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region as early as the end of November.
Speaking by phone to public radio Kossuth on Friday, while attending an informal meeting of EU heads of state and government in Dublin, Magyar said he had spoken to Zelensky for 10–15 minutes on Thursday. They also discussed the possibility of meeting face to face.
Transcarpathia rather than Budapest or Kyiv
“Transcarpathia came up as a possible location, rather than Budapest or Kyiv. The foreign ministers are currently discussing the arrangements, and the meeting could even take place at the end of November,” Magyar said.
The prime minister also outlined his diplomatic engagements in the Irish capital. The European Political Community summit was held on Thursday, while an informal EU summit was scheduled for Friday. Magyar said he had also met the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, as well as the prime ministers of Armenia, Luxembourg, Kosovo and Ireland, and the President of Switzerland.
Hungary could benefit from pharmaceutical manufacturing returning to Europe
Commenting on his recent visit to Berlin, Magyar highlighted the opportunities for Hungary in the pharmaceutical industry, which has a long-standing tradition in the country.
He described it as a major opportunity that Germany and several other European countries are considering bringing the production of strategically important goods back to the EU and its single market, partly because of transit and supply chain problems.
Fuel prices and inflation remain under control, Magyar says
Asked about fuel prices in Hungary, the prime minister said the average price of petrol had fallen below HUF 600 per litre, close to the previous protected price. Diesel had also become cheaper following a significant decline in global crude oil prices.
He added that the government had taken steps to prevent diesel shortages and petrol station closures, particularly to protect hauliers and motorists who rely on diesel-powered vehicles.
Magyar also said inflation had not been this low for a very long time. He argued that the increase from 1.6% to 2% was relatively small, while food prices had actually fallen. Both the government and the National Bank of Hungary are planning for 3% inflation next year, which he described as “perfectly healthy”. He added that eurozone countries would be pleased with inflation of 2–2.5% or even 3%.
On economic growth, Magyar said the government was working with realistic and achievable figures in both the 2026 and 2027 budgets.
He attributed the economy’s modest 0.1% growth in the third quarter to drought, which caused more than HUF 800 billion in damage to agriculture alone, weighing on overall economic performance.
The government continues to forecast growth of 1.7–1.8% for 2026, as it did previously. The figure formed the basis for its 2.4% growth projection for next year. Both the European Commission and the central bank expect higher growth, Magyar noted.
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Magyar hits back at Orbán’s criticism of the budget
Responding to criticism of the budget by former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Magyar said he did not believe he should concern himself with interviews given by someone whose former government had seen half its members placed in pre-trial detention or arrested, or whose own family members had faced allegations of human trafficking.
Magyar insisted that his government had presented a well-founded budget. He accused the previous administration of delivering no economic growth during its final four years, bringing Hungary the highest inflation in Europe and allowing the prices of certain food products to double.
Istanbul Convention ratification could reach Parliament soon
The prime minister also announced that a parliamentary resolution on ratifying the Istanbul Convention could be submitted to Parliament without delay.
He said the government’s strategic cabinet had discussed amendments to the criminal law package he had partly announced on Wednesday. The Ministry of Health had also been consulting on changes to the so-called foetal heartbeat decree for months and had been working on a proposal for several weeks.
Magyar added that various ministries had already drawn up measures to support pregnant women, remove the prescription requirement for emergency contraception and tackle period poverty. Ratification of the Istanbul Convention would be the final step in this process.
Responding to criticism of the convention, he argued that women experiencing domestic or relationship violence do not care whether the term “gender” appears in an international agreement. He also pointed out that men can be victims of violence in relationships.
Magyar rejected criticism from former Health State Secretary Péter Takács, who had claimed the previous day that, because of Magyar’s alleged inferiority complex over his ex-wife and Zsolt Hegedűs’s supposed lack of backbone, 14-year-old girls would be able to take emergency contraceptive pills “like sweets”.
The prime minister stressed that many unwanted pregnancies had occurred precisely because women could not obtain the medication without a doctor’s prescription.
Mistaken agent-file disclosure has dealt a blow to public trust
Magyar was also asked whether the credibility of the government’s efforts to open up communist-era secret agent files had been undermined by the mistaken identification of Sándor Lezsák, a Fidesz politician and prominent member of the democratic opposition before the regime change, as a former network operative.
The prime minister said the legislation on opening the files had been developed jointly with archivists and historians and subsequently passed by Parliament. Some MPs from Fidesz and the Christian Democratic People’s Party (KDNP) had also voted in favour of it.
He stressed that the archives fall under Parliament’s authority, not that of the government. The head of the Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security (ÁBTL) had accepted responsibility for the error and apologised, as Magyar himself had done in his capacity as prime minister.
Asked whether ÁBTL Director-General Gergő Bendegúz Cseh should remain in his position, Magyar said that, in his personal opinion, he could not continue in the role, adding that Cseh himself did not wish to do so.
However, he argued that a responsible leader should not walk away before the mistake has been addressed, saying that one should not “abandon a sinking ship”. Nevertheless, he made clear that Cseh would not continue his work.
Magyar acknowledged that millions of people had been waiting for the secret agent files to become public and that the recent mistake had dealt a blow to the process.
He maintained that the intention behind the initiative had been right and that everyone involved had done their best to ensure it went smoothly, although this had unfortunately not happened. The government had been addressing a 36-year-old failure to act, he concluded.
