PM Viktor Orbán spent much of yesterday’s Bayer Show lamenting the case for Hungary’s departure from the European Union. He conceded, however, that he still favours remaining—for now, albeit with a “hesitant yes”. The question arises: might another Fidesz victory turn this into reality, and if so, what would Hungary’s place be outside the bloc?
Hungarians back EU membership
Hungary joined the EU in 2004 amid near-unanimous support. On the referendum, only the then-ejected MIÉP party campaigned against accession; every major party, from the governing MSZP to the opposition Fidesz, backed it. A Eurobarometer survey from autumn 2025—published only in February this year—found 55% of Hungarians support the country’s membership, below the EU average of 62%. Some 46% hold a positive view of the EU, compared with 49% across Europe. Yet only 7% in Hungary deem membership outright harmful, against an EU-wide 11%, reports Privátbankár.
A Huxit—Hungary’s exit from the EU—thus commands neither a majority nor even a coherent minority.
That said, on Fidesz’s Hír TV Bayer Show, Orbán gave a strikingly uncertain reply when asked if an April triumph would keep Hungary in the Union. His current “yes” was tentative at best; he cited no positives, only a litany of negatives.
Why Hungary should leave the EU
In Orbán’s view, Western Europe has lost its way in the modern age. Its leaders cannot grasp Europe’s mission, reduced instead to lecturing those stronger than themselves, who, in turn, scorn and mock them. “The question is whether it makes sense to belong to such a community,” he posed rhetorically, according to 444.hu. For now (at least), his answer is yes: we are here geographically, and culturally and spiritually European too. Somehow, he insists, Europe must be healed.
“Whether it still makes sense to engage with them, to belong, to cooperate—that has no answer yet. My heart has one: it would be good if there were,” Orbán added. This could signal that, post-election victory and further “war” with Brussels, Fidesz might seriously entertain exit.
Here’s the full interview, unfortunately, only in Hungarian:
EU-Orbán conflicts
The Orbán governments clash irreconcilably with the EU on numerous fronts, from the freezing of funds over rule-of-law concerns to the Ukraine conflict. Orbán urges Kyiv to strike any peace deal with Moscow at once, while the Union’s heavyweights—from Britain to Poland—back Ukraine’s defensive war to avert Russian victory.
If you missed our previous articles:
- Der Spiegel: If PM Orbán stays, Hungary must be ejected from the European Union
- Huxit threat: Hungarian economist warns of real possibility under PM Orbán
Leaving the EU? That would lead to jubilation in almost all European countries. He should be supported in this, because the EU would finally develop a sense of unity again after a long time. We couldn’t be grateful enough to Orbán for that.
You’ll only understand, how essential Hungary became in the EU, when Hungary leaves.
Really? What is the benefit of HU in the EU? Cheap labor workforce? You have Ukrainian being cheaper
🤥🤡🤣🤣🤣
We do not like Hungary leaving EU. It would be bad for both Hungary and the EU. However, if Hungary is to be still governed by Orban, it would definitely be better if Orban’s Hungary left the EU. No doubt. It has been some years now were Hungary is a hindrance for EU.
Leaving the EU is only possible with a Russian border. Or a Russian puppet Ukraine.
Hungary needs markets, and the West is dying. So even the current EU not a big enough market. But the EU sorrounds us, and unless we get a landbridge to the East, we would be permanently embargoed.
But Ukraine and the EU are doing everything to achive a Hungarian-Russian border.
And I am firm in my belief, that Mi Hazánk will be a major winner of this election.
So yes, as time goes on, a Hungarian exit just gets more and more likely, even if it seems far away for now.
@Mark – look at the map. If Hungary leaves the EU and borders a Russian-occupied Ukraine, we become the front line of a new Cold War.
We would be a militarized state sandwiched between a hostile NATO and an expansionist Russia. Good way of scaring away any investment – arguably better than anything the EU could dream up. No land bridge could save us.
To dovetail this in the stationing of military as a precaution at Paks and Algyő illustrates that proximity is a liability, not an asset.
Not only that! Which foreign company would invest in Hungary without a market as large as the EU? None, because 10 million people with relatively low purchasing power are simply not enough. And the Chinese? They’ll move on to Poland and another Eastern European country, because there they would have access to a market of over 400 million people across the EU, some with very high purchasing power.
Why are Asian companies investing in Hungary? Not out of love for Orbán or Hungary itself! The decisive factor is access to the EU market, and only secondarily are the location factors, especially costs (wages, taxes, etc.). Hungary is merely an extended production line for Europeans and Asians. If Hungary loses its access to the EU, it will lose these international companies sooner or later. Hungary itself has hardly any large, competitive industrial companies. This is why Orbán brought these foreign companies into the country and then tried to deliberately worsen the location factors for small and medium-sized enterprises so that they could be acquired by his friends (e.g., in the building materials sector and supermarket chains).
And one mustn’t forget that the EU will dictate the terms to Hungary (import taxes, standards, etc.). This will not be cooperation on equal terms. Anyone who doubts this should simply look at the UK after Brexit. The UK was only able to negotiate unfavorable terms with the EU and subsequently suffered an economic collapse, which it has not fully recovered to this day. Therefore, they have recently been trying to mitigate this competitive disadvantage somewhat through new agreements with the EU, without having to rejoin the EU.
Switzerland has also been trying this approach for a long time and is thus moving closer to the EU economically. However, both countries have only been successful so far when they have submitted to the EU’s regulations and standards. Based on past experience with Hungary, Hungary cannot expect similar concessions.
Hungary’s exports currently go predominantly to Germany, and Germany was historically the only country with which Hungary achieved a significant trade surplus (due to the numerous German automotive, metal, and supplier industries). Anyone who dreams that things will stay this way after a HUXIT must be on drugs or completely out of touch with reality. Even if the EU imposes an import tax on Hungary, Hungary’s cost advantage will be wiped out very quickly. Trump sends his regards!
I could write much more on this topic, but I think this is enough to understand the economic problems and why Orbán just talks nonsense instead of taking action.
Not only that! Which foreign company would invest in Hungary without a market as large as the EU? None, because 10 million people with relatively low purchasing power are simply not enough. And the Chinese? They’ll move on to Poland and another Eastern European country, because there they would have access to a market of over 400 million people across the EU, some with very high purchasing power.
Why are Asian companies investing in Hungary? Not out of love for Orbán or Hungary itself! The decisive factor is access to the EU market, and only secondarily are the location factors, especially costs (wages, taxes, etc.). Hungary is merely an extended production line for Europeans and Asians. If Hungary loses its access to the EU, it will lose these international companies sooner or later. Hungary itself has hardly any large, competitive industrial companies. This is why Orbán brought these foreign companies into the country and then tried to deliberately worsen the location factors for small and medium-sized enterprises so that they could be acquired by his friends (e.g., in the building materials sector and supermarket chains).
And one mustn’t forget that the EU will dictate the terms to Hungary (import taxes, standards, etc.). This will not be cooperation on equal terms. Anyone who doubts this should simply look at the UK after Brexit. The UK was only able to negotiate unfavorable terms with the EU and subsequently suffered an economic collapse, which it has not fully recovered to this day. Therefore, they have recently been trying to mitigate this competitive disadvantage somewhat through new agreements with the EU, without having to rejoin the EU.
Switzerland has also been trying this approach for a long time and is thus moving closer to the EU economically. However, both countries have only been successful so far when they have submitted to the EU’s regulations and standards. Based on past experience with Hungary, Hungary cannot expect similar concessions.
Hungary’s exports currently go predominantly to Germany, and Germany was historically the only country with which Hungary achieved a significant trade surplus (due to the numerous German automotive, metal, and supplier industries). Anyone who dreams that things will stay this way after a HUXIT must be on drugs or completely out of touch with reality. Even if the EU imposes an import tax on Hungary, Hungary’s cost advantage will be wiped out very quickly. Trump sends his regards!
I could write much more on this topic, but I think this is enough to understand the economic problems and why Orbán just talks nonsense instead of taking action!
‘If Hungary leaves the EU and borders a Russian-occupied Ukraine, we become the front line of a new Cold War.’
Hungary is already on the frontline, Dear Norbert – at the very tip-point of a multi angle war that is not only military, but knee-deep in espionage and subversion.
As it cannot change it’s geography, it will leave the EU and form a new military economic coalition with those of it’s neighbours who are most willing.
In the big picture, Hungary is still dealing with the same situation that began in 1914.
🇷🇺🤥🤡🤣🤣🤣🤣
🤥🤡🤣🤣🤣
“The West is dying”. It has been “dying” since Khrushchev said “We will bury you” and eventually it was the Soviet Union that was buried. Great propaganda line peddled endlessly by the Kremlin as Russia and its’ puppet allies die in the pit of their corruption.
Yes, Dear Larry – The Soviet Union was buried.
So, now we have the resurgence of the autocratic-orthodox Czarist Russia, and, if anyone is burying anyone, it is this new Russia that is playing a major role in preparing the funeral for The Western Elite.
🇷🇺🤥🤡😴😴😴😴
This should be the final wake-up call for voters. Leaving EU would be catastrophic for Hungarians in every way. The fact that Orban is even thinking about such move should steer all voters away from Fidesz and choose a party that works for a better future for Hungary instead of taking us backwards into a total decline. Seems to be that the choice will be to vote for staying as a European nation with good opportunities for development OR to vote for Fidesz that will steer us into becoming poor Russian vassal state like Belarus.
I am sure some will be more equal than others.
Friends, family, inlaws, toadies … Our Politicians always very circumspect!
Orban floats the idea of Huxit as part of his anti-EU narrative. The reality is that not even Fidesz would leave as long as there was possibility of getting free money from German and French taxpayers and open market access that the Hungarian economy desperately needs. Orban needs to rail against the EU to pump up his base of ultra-nationalist Neanderthals.
I respectfully disagree, Dear Larry.
Though Fidesz has tried to remain in the EU, the relationship, from either the perspective of Bruxelles or Budapest, has simply become untenable.
Things will not continue on as they currently are.
Hungary will soon be out and then will begin building a new Central European Alliance – a bit of a resurgence of the Hapsburg Empire which, formerly, was known as The Holy Roman Empire.
Large states and institutions, that were buried by events of the 2öth century, are remanifesting.
Russia was the first to dig out from the mess of the 20th century.
Hungary will, as will Central Europe, now dig out.
The 20th century was a failed experiment in ideological lunacy and financial cultural subversion.
🇷🇺🤥🤒🤡😴😴😴
So the XX century inventions that came from peaceful liberal nations are nothing to you… Stop saying stupidities, please.
Nationalism brings war. War brings suffering and poverty.
EU Overcomes Hungary’s Veto And Agrees 90 Bln Euros Loan To Ukraine!
European Council President António Costa personally discussed the issue with Orbán.
European Union countries have reached an agreement on a €90 billion loan to Ukraine, overcoming Hungary’s veto, and the decision will not be reconsidered. This was reported by Bulgarian National Radio (BNR).
On Tuesday, March 17, Ukraine agreed to accept EU financial and technical assistance to restore the Druzhba oil pipeline, European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said. Hungary had earlier blocked the loan, insisting on the resumption of Russian oil transit, which stopped after Russian strikes on the pipeline system. Budapest accused Kiev of deliberately halting supplies. Orban, in particular, warned that Hungary would block any EU decisions in support of Ukraine until transit through Druzhba is restored. Kiev, for its part, insisted that the stoppage of supplies was caused solely by technical reasons.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said on March 17 that repair work at the Brody pumping station was close to completion. According to him, the station will resume operation in about a month and a half. If Russia does not strike again, transit will be fully restored then, Zelenskyy said.
EU leaders agreed on a loan to Ukraine back in December 2025, but the allocation of funds required the adoption of an additional bill, which Hungary blocked.
Central Europe is on the cusp of re-arising.
Hungary will be a leading role in that.
Nothing will change that, because the true nature of the peoples, and therefore cultures, that populate Central Europe, simply cannot continue under the yoke of The Western Elite.
No amount of Leftists, desiring the contrary in large Central European cities, can change this basic reality.
🇷🇺🤥🤦🤣🤣🤣
Orban would prefer to leave the EU, and Iceland wants to join as quickly as possible.
Iceland’s Foreign Minister Torgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir said she was optimistic that her country could join the European Union as early as 2028.
She said this in comments to Reuters.
Gunnarsdottir said the most difficult issues during the talks will be fisheries and agriculture.
Iceland has had disagreements with the EU in the past over fishing quotas, which affects one of the main drivers of its economy.
“We have seen that having a say at the negotiating table is beneficial,” she said.
Also, she said, any new negotiations should focus on the most difficult issues, such as fisheries, agriculture and the labor market, right at the beginning.
“If we do that, I am quite optimistic that by the end of 2028 we will be a member of the European Union,” she added.
Watch how long,Dear Karl, Iceland stays in the EU, once the Muslim and African deliveries begin.
A hypothetical comment, really, as the EU, as currently constituted, is not long for this world – so Iceland will never be in it.
🇷🇺🤥🤡🤣🤣🤣🤣
What’s the latest news from the European warmongers who would so gladly abandon Hungary?
When President Donald Trump asked the Nato in Europe to join a global effort against Iran and deploy ships to prise open the Strait of Hormuz, whose near closure has held the global economy in a vice, he was rebuffed by some of America’s closest allies.
Merz told German lawmakers on Wednesday he agreed Iran must not be allowed to pose a threat to its neighbours but expressed doubts about the rationale behind the U.S.-Israeli war.
“To this day, there is no convincing plan for how this operation could succeed. Washington has not consulted us and did not say European assistance was necessary,” he told lawmakers.
“We would have advised against pursuing this course of action as it has been pursued. Therefore, we have declared that as long as the war continues, we will not participate in ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, for example, by military means.”
European leaders have rejected direct involvement in U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran, wary of getting sucked into an unpredictable conflict whose aims they do not fully understand.
What do we hear about this from the Hungarian government or from Orbán?
Nothing! Presumably, in their eyes, it’s just a small, insignificant, and above all, regional conflict into which Israel and the US have stumbled rather by chance.
If the EU supports Ukraine, then the EU is a warmonger; if the US bombs the Middle East back to the Stone Age with war and plunges the global economy into complete chaos, then the US is a peacemaker.
Could it get any more perverse?
What do we hear from the Hungarian government or from Orbán?
Nothing! Presumably, in their eyes, it’s just a small, insignificant, and above all, regional conflict into which Israel and the US have stumbled rather by chance.
When the EU supports Ukraine, the EU is a warmonger; when the US bombs the Middle East back to the Stone Age with war and plunges the global economy into complete chaos, the US is a peacemaker.
Could it get any more perverse?
Orbán should declare Hungary a US protectorate and, if Trump refuses, offer it to Moscow. The rest of the EU would certainly be glad to be rid of this hypocrite.
All central/eastern European countries will leave this suicidal project called the EU eventually! It’s just a matter of time! Even in Western Europe growing numbers are done with this Pan European project!
Igen 💯!!
There are strong forces trying to divide us. Russia promoted brexit and many extremist movements to create chaos in the EU. That is what you are seening. However, democracy is much better. Union makes us stronger. Division and nationalism make us poor and weak.
I would like to request admission in Russia:
Z-blogger Ilya Remeslo, who called Vladimir Putin an illegitimate president and called for him to be put on trial as a war criminal, has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital in St. Petersburg. This was reported by another pro-war blogger Alexander Kartavykh.
Remeslo was hospitalized in the evening of March 19 in the city psychiatric hospital No. 3 named after I.I. Skvortsov-Stepanov, the interlocutors said “straight from the hospital itself.”
According to Baza, the blogger who criticized Putin is in the hospital in the 16th ward, which specializes in the treatment of men with first-time symptoms of psychotic disorder.
The channel notes that the ward contains patients with delirium, thought disorders and incoherent speech. The information about Remeslo’s hospitalization is also confirmed by Fontanka. The clinic’s information desk told the publication’s correspondent that the patient, who is the blogger’s full namesake, can be given a parcel on Saturday and Wednesday. Journalist Alexander Pluschev, who recorded an interview with Remeslo on March 18, said the latter did not respond to messages sent Thursday morning “and did not even review them” and ignored calls on WhatsApp. Meanwhile, in his interview with Plyushchev, Remeslo said, among other things, that he had no intention of leaving Russia.
Remeslo, who has previously supported the Russian government and actively opposed opposition figures, published a series of posts in his Telegram channel on the evening of March 17 and morning of March 18, sharply criticizing the Kremlin and Putin personally, which caused a wave of bewilderment and indignation in the Z-surround.
In the posts, the Z-blogger listed six key reasons for his dissatisfaction with the president: the war with Ukraine, which he called “absolutely deadlocked” and causing enormous damage to the economy; censorship of the Internet and media; Putin’s indefinite stay in power; disrespect for citizens; and “an insane, borderline sick craving for luxury.”
Back to the European common market, and each country back to their own currency.