Orbán’s secret EU campaign revealed: How Hungary took its message to Europe – and how much we paid for it

A newly obtained media plan reveals that Viktor Orbán’s government paid more than HUF 313 million for a campaign placing the Hungarian prime minister’s seven-point criticism of the European Union in newspapers across Europe in 2021.

Hungarian taxpayers paid more than HUF 313 million for a government advertising campaign that promoted then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s criticism of the European Union in foreign newspapers, newly obtained documents reveal.

The campaign, launched in the summer of 2021, was considerably broader than previously known. While two full-page advertisements – one in a Danish newspaper and another in Spain – attracted attention at the time, documents obtained by investigative outlet Átlátszó show that Orbán’s message was ultimately published in 18 foreign newspapers.

The campaign came at a particularly tense moment in Hungary’s relationship with the EU, following a series of disputes over the Hungarian government’s policies and its increasingly confrontational stance towards Brussels.

A HUF 313 million campaign against the “European empire”

The advertisement, titled On the Future of the European Union – Hungary’s Proposals, presented seven points under Orbán’s signature. Its opening message declared: “We say no to a European empire!”

According to the media plans obtained from the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office, the government paid a total of HUF 313 million gross for the campaign. The net advertising cost was HUF 213.4 million. On top of this came a 15 per cent agency fee of HUF 32 million paid to New Land Media, the company responsible for organising the campaign, followed by VAT.

The documents indicate that the government initially targeted even more publications. In total, 25 newspapers appear to have been approached, although seven ultimately did not publish the advertisement. One of them, Bulgaria’s 24 Chasa, reportedly could not run it because of technical reasons. The campaign therefore went far beyond the two advertisements that became publicly known at the time.

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Why was Orbán’s message published in 2021?

The timing was important. In March 2021, Fidesz left the European People’s Party group in the European Parliament after changes to the group’s rules opened the way for an entire delegation to be expelled.

Three months later, Hungary’s parliament adopted the government’s so-called child protection law, which drew widespread criticism over its restrictions concerning LGBTQ-related content. The legislation was promulgated on 23 June.

Just days later, EU leaders gathered for a summit in Brussels, where the Hungarian government faced strong criticism over the law. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had already taken an exceptionally hard line before the summit, saying that, in his view, Hungary had no place in the EU.

At the summit itself, leaders from 17 member states signed a declaration condemning the Hungarian legislation as a “blatant form of discrimination”.

The first advertisements featuring Orbán’s response appeared in foreign newspapers the following day, on 26 June. Over the next two weeks, readers of a further 16 publications encountered the Hungarian prime minister’s seven-point message.

What did Orbán’s seven points say?

The advertisement presented a very Eurosceptic vision of the European Union. Orbán argued that Brussels was building a “superstate” without democratic authorisation and called for rejecting what he described as a European empire.

He also said European integration should be regarded as a means rather than an end in itself, arguing against the principle of an “ever closer union” being included in the EU treaties.

Another point called for decisions to be made by elected leaders rather than international NGOs, while accusing the EU of outsourcing the rule of law. The Hungarian prime minister also linked the future of European integration to economic success, arguing that the EU would have no future if member states could not become more successful together than separately.

Other points focused on migration and pandemics, strengthening national parliaments and restoring public confidence in European democracy. The final proposal was particularly notable: Serbia should be admitted to the European Union.

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Several major European newspapers refused the advertisement

Not every newspaper approached by the Hungarian government agreed to publish the campaign. The editor-in-chief of The Times of Malta said the newspaper did not want to accept money from a government that restricted press freedom, human rights and the rule of law. Publishing the advertisement, he argued, could have turned the newspaper into a tool of a policy running counter to press freedom.

Belgium’s De Standaard similarly rejected the advertisement and instead published a full-page rainbow-coloured response. La Libre Belgique reportedly argued that Orbán’s advertisement did not reflect the truth, while De Morgen rejected it because the message was incompatible with the values represented by the newspaper.

Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter offered Orbán an interview instead, but received no response. Meanwhile, The Irish Times argued that the Hungarian government was attempting to use money to bypass the editorial process and place its own message directly before readers.

A campaign designed to reach beyond Orbán’s allies

The newspapers that did publish the advertisements were not exclusively sympathetic to the Hungarian government. According to the documents, roughly half of the publications that carried the campaign were critical of Orbán’s government to some degree, while the other half were more favourable towards it.

The selection also suggests that the government was seeking a broad international audience rather than simply targeting publications in countries considered political allies. The campaign included conservative and right-wing newspapers, but also mainstream titles such as France’s Le Figaro and Sweden’s Dagens Industri.