Election in Hungary

Europe's far-right gathers in support of Orbán

The leaders of about a dozen European far-right parties gathered in Budapest on Monday to show support for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ahead of the election on April 12, reports AP.

Among others, French Marine Le Pen, Dutch Geert Wilders and Italian Matteo Salvini took the stage with Orbán during the "Patriots for Europe" meeting.

- On April 12, you will send a new message of strength and determination to the tired old technocrats in Brussels, Le Pen says in her speech.

Orbán himself says that "Patriots for Europe" aims to occupy and take control of the EU. The meeting comes in the wake of reports that his foreign minister regularly reported directly to the Kremlin from sensitive EU meetings.

Sources: EU shuts Hungary out of sensitive talks

The EU is withholding sensitive information from Hungary and holding summits in smaller groups after reports that Orbán’s government is leaking information to Russia, diplomatic sources told Politico.

The European Commission has asked Budapest for clarification, AFP reports.

“Trust between member states, and between them and the institution, is crucial for the EU’s work,” said spokeswoman Anitta Hipper.

However, no formal EU measures will be taken against Hungary, according to Politico’s sources.

It was on Friday that the Washington Post, citing European security sources, reported that Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó regularly called his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during breaks in EU meetings and reported directly what was said.

The Hungarian government dismisses the reports as “fake news.”

The Hungarian election — it’s about the issue

• Hungary’s parliamentary election will be held on April 12. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is being challenged by opposition leader Péter Magyar and his party Tisza.
• Opinion polls show that Tisza, a pro-EU center-right party, is leading Orbán’s Fidesz by about ten percentage points ahead of the election.
• According to European security sources, the Hungarian government has been reporting directly from sensitive EU meetings to Russia for several years, which has led to the EU now excluding Hungary from certain talks.
• According to several sources, Russia has been running disinformation campaigns on social media to support Orbán, while both candidates have accused each other of foreign influence.
• Ahead of the election, Orbán has received the support of several international right-wing leaders and US President Trump, while Péter Magyar has profiled himself with promises of anti-corruption and closer EU cooperation.