Romanian President Dan criticizes Orbán harshly, while ministers praise cooperation in Budapest

On Thursday, two seemingly unrelated diplomatic developments played out side by side. In one, Romania’s new president delivered a pointed critique of Hungary; in the other, Romanian and Hungarian ministers spoke of record-level economic cooperation. Together, the two scenes capture the Orbán government’s relationship with its neighbours: politically tense, yet economically increasingly close.

Dan sends a message to Budapest while backing Zelensky

Romanian President Nicușor Dan hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Bucharest – and, answering journalists’ questions, used unusually strong language to describe the Hungarian government’s latest move. Budapest, he said, had blocked an EU loan that all 27 member states had previously approved to support Ukraine.

Dan argued it was unacceptable for a joint decision on such an important issue – one intended to finance Ukraine’s civilian and military needs – to be questioned by a single member state just two or three weeks later. He noted that another EU summit will be held in a week, at which the European Commission is expected to propose several legal options to break the deadlock. Romania is ready to support any of them, Dan said.

In the background is a resolution adopted by the Hungarian parliament on Tuesday. With the Orbán government’s two-thirds majority, MPs voted against supporting Ukraine’s EU membership and against sending weapons and money, and called on the government to do everything it can to prevent Hungary or the EU from being “dragged into” the Russia–Ukraine war.

Guarantees on minority standards

According to Agerpres, Zelensky signed a decree establishing a national day for the Romanian language in Ukraine, to be marked on 31 August. The talks also touched on minority-language rights, an issue the Hungarian government has long highlighted. Dan said he had received guarantees that Romanian-language schools would be able to operate without disruption, and that the rights of the Romanian community would be ensured in line with international minority-protection standards.

This is worth noting, by the way, because Budapest has been unable to secure guarantees for minority rights in Ukraine, although it is true that its relationship with Ukraine is entirely different from that of Bucharest. The EU has also repeatedly called on Kyiv to align itself with European standards on minority rights, for example, with regard to Hungarian minorities.

Meanwhile at Hungary’s foreign ministry: gas, Schengen, record exports

While Dan was in Bucharest criticizing Budapest, Barna Tánczos, the Romanian Minister of the Environment of Hungarian descent, was holding talks with Péter Szijjártó at the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Budapest. The full content of the meeting was not made public; Hungarian state media reported only Szijjártó’s remarks, without presenting the Romanian side’s position.

On energy, Szijjártó said – citing Russian sources – that Ukraine had attacked the TurkStream pipeline, endangering Hungary’s energy supply.

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Yet he painted an upbeat picture of bilateral cooperation: he said Hungary bought roughly 1.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas from Romania last year, and that advanced talks are under way for Hungary to purchase gas from Black Sea fields expected to come into production soon.

Schengen expansion also featured in his assessment. After Romania’s accession, the number of border crossings nearly doubled, he said, making everyday life easier for cross-border communities. Szijjártó also noted that Hungarian exports to Romania hit a record last year, surpassing €8 billion for the first time. The meeting also touched on progress in tackling pollution in rivers that cross the border.

One day, two faces

Thursday’s developments, in miniature, reflect a contradiction that Hungary’s neighbourhood policy repeatedly grapples with. Bucharest is a strong advocate for Kyiv within the EU and does not hesitate to criticise Budapest publicly – something Dan’s comments made clear. At the same time, Romanian–Hungarian economic ties are deepening in areas such as energy, trade and infrastructure. Politics confronts; business connects.

That duality is likely to surface again at the next EU summit, where Hungary will once more have to decide how long it can sustain, at the same time, a distinct geopolitical course and pragmatic cooperation with its neighbours.

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