Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced on Sunday that he will travel to Türkiye early on Monday to attend the upcoming North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit before remaining in the country for a four-day family holiday with his two sons.
The prime minister shared the details in a Facebook video, saying he would return to Hungary on 12 July after combining the official visit with a private trip to the Turkish coast.
First NATO summit as prime minister
Magyar said the summit in Türkiye will be the first time he represents Hungary as prime minister at NATO’s highest-level gathering. Accompanied by the foreign and defence ministers, he is scheduled to meet alliance leaders on Tuesday and Wednesday, meaning he will miss Monday’s and Tuesday’s parliamentary sittings. During his absence, Deputy Prime Minister Bálint Ruff will carry out his domestic duties.
Government highlights recent foreign policy achievements
In his message, Magyar argued that recent weeks had shown the benefits of being “a reliable but critical partner” within the country’s international alliances. He pointed to what his government describes as several early diplomatic successes, including:
- reaching an agreement with Ukraine on the rights of ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia;
- reviving cooperation among the Visegrád Group countries;
- securing the release of around HUF 6 trillion in previously frozen European Union funding.
According to the prime minister, these resources will finance transport, healthcare, energy and economic development projects. He contrasted this with the previous government, claiming EU funds had remained blocked because of corruption and deteriorating relations with Hungary’s allies.
Commercial flight instead of government aircraft
Magyar also stressed that he had declined the use of a Hungarian military aircraft for the journey. Instead, he said he would fly to Istanbul on a scheduled Wizz Air flight before travelling by car to Ankara.
He added that his government had also cancelled what he described as a luxury hotel reservation made by the previous administration and had sought to minimise both the size of the delegation and accommodation costs.
SAFE loan and NATO cooperation
The prime minister said he would continue to advocate constructive cooperation with allies during the summit. He recalled previous discussions with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, saying they agreed Hungarian troops were performing excellent work in the Kosovo peacekeeping mission.
Magyar also argued that the European Union’s SAFE defence loan programme presents an opportunity not only to strengthen the Hungarian Armed Forces but also to support dual-use investments, including railway, infrastructure and healthcare projects where permitted under the scheme.
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Holiday after official programme
The prime minister also disclosed that his two younger sons would accompany him to Türkiye at his own expense. After the NATO summit concludes on Wednesday evening, he plans to travel to Antalya, where he will spend four days with them before returning to Hungary.
Magyar said he would remain in contact with government ministers throughout the trip and continue participating remotely in preparations for cabinet meetings and major decisions. Parliamentary business will continue in his absence, with Dávid Vitézy scheduled to deliver Monday’s opening address instead of the prime minister.
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I’m quite thankful that we don’t have a Putin allied traitor in NATO anymore. Other NATO members can now discuss policy freely with a Hungarian PM in the room.