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Erdrutschsieg von Péter Magyar in Ungarn - welche Auswirkungen hat das auf Brüssel?
In dieser neuen Ausgabe von The Ring, die aus dem Europäischen Parlament in Brüssel gesendet wird, debattieren die Europaabgeordneten Daniel Freund (Grüne) und Sander Smit (EKR) über das Ergebnis der ungarischen Wahlen und dessen Bedeutung für Europa.
LESEN SIE MEHR : http://de.euronews.com/2026/04/16/erdrutschsieg-von-peter-magyar-in-ungarn-welche-auswirkungen-hat-das-auf-brussel
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In dieser neuen Ausgabe von The Ring, die aus dem Europäischen Parlament in Brüssel gesendet wird, debattieren die Europaabgeordneten Daniel Freund (Grüne) und Sander Smit (EKR) über das Ergebnis der ungarischen Wahlen und dessen Bedeutung für Europa.
LESEN SIE MEHR : http://de.euronews.com/2026/04/16/erdrutschsieg-von-peter-magyar-in-ungarn-welche-auswirkungen-hat-das-auf-brussel
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NewsTranskript
00:08Hello and welcome to The Ring, Euronews' weekly debate show broadcasting from the European
00:14Parliament here in Brussels. I'm Stefan Groben. On The Ring, elected members of the European
00:20Parliament go face-to-face on some of the biggest issues facing the EU. Today, we're
00:26going to talk about the outcome of the Hungarian election and what it means for Europe. Luis
00:32Albertos has more. Peter Magyar's landslide victory in Hungary's parliamentary elections
00:38on Sunday has sparked renewed optimism in Brussels. After years of Viktor Orbán's controversial
00:45rule, the change in government has raised hopes that previously stalled EU support for Ukraine
00:50may finally be unblocked. While the European Union faces increasing global challenges from
00:56Ukraine to the Middle East, its foreign policy responses often appear slow and fragmented,
01:01raising doubts about whether its current structure remains fit for purpose. A central point of
01:08debate lies in the EU's decision-making, particularly the requirement for unanimity. Nevertheless,
01:15resistance from some countries to reform these rules shows how fragmented the bloc is. What
01:20does Orbán's defeat mean for the future of the EU? Beyond potential improvement in relations
01:25with Hungary, the Union still faces a broader question. Does it need radical reform to avoid
01:30being sidelined on the global stage? A lot to unpack here for our contenders and here they are.
01:40Daniel Freund, a German MEP from the Greens European Free Alliance Group. He serves on the Committee on
01:46Budgetary Control and Constitutional Affairs and is a vocal advocate for stronger EU institutions and
01:52stricter oversight of EU funds. A fierce defender of a federal Europe, he said,
01:57the unanimity principle is a security risk for Europe. More democracy, more European security and less blackmailing
02:04by autocrats. Orbán is history, the end of the corrupt dictator.
02:09Sander Smit, a Dutch MEP from the European Conservatives and Reformists Group. He serves on the Committee on
02:15Constitutional Affairs. Regarding the result of the elections in Hungary, he said, we must respect that
02:21the new Hungarian government has received a strong mandate from its citizens with a conservative agenda of
02:27national sovereignty, anti-Green Deal and anti-immigration positions. Sustainable EU decision-making cannot rely on
02:34bypassing national democracy. So let me welcome to the ring Daniel Freund and Sander Smit. Great to have you here,
02:42good to see you both. Now, the aim of the ring is to offer our viewers a glimpse at European
02:48Parliament
02:49debates, so you should feel right at home. Are you ready? Yes. We're ready. All right. So let's kick it
02:55off
02:55with the stunner of the week, the election in Hungary. Sander, was there anything surprising in the outcome?
03:02Not very surprising or satisfied. I think the Hungarian people has clearly spoken, has taken a stance about
03:08their future, what they want in the new leadership. And they clearly wanted a new leader after 16 years
03:15of Viktor Orban. Well, Daniel, that's certainly true. But the numbers were really, really stunning. Did you have that on
03:21your
03:21radar? I mean, there had been polls, but that there is such a clear two thirds majority. And I think
03:27the surprising thing in the
03:28end was how quickly and clearly Viktor Orban conceded, because there was some fear that he was not just going
03:36to go. But now it looks like...
03:38It's just too strong, right? Exactly. But still, this is impressive. I was there in Budapest on the ground,
03:45and seeing just random people high-fiving, cheering, chanting in the streets, celebrating the end of the
03:51mafia state. I think this was a big moment for Europe. End of the mafia state, do you agree? I
03:56think that we
03:56shouldn't polarize too much. We can still see that democracy and democratic values within the Hungarian people,
04:02society, and even state institutions survived, were upheld. Orban clearly conceded his loss.
04:10And I think we shouldn't now overdo all the speculation beforehand. I was a bit worried by
04:15certain left-wing politicians polarizing before the elections. I think that could have harmed the
04:22outcome of Tisha's electoral result in the end. But the Hungarian people were, I think, independent
04:27enough and sovereign enough to decide on their own. One more on Viktor Orban before we move on.
04:35Over the last past years, he has become the boogeyman in the European Union, but he wasn't
04:39all that bad. I mean, in 90% of the cases, he always voted with the European Council.
04:45So are we now going back to business? Well, it's a bit saying 90% he voted with the others.
04:50Yeah, whenever his vote didn't matter. But where it did matter on the unanimous decisions, I mean,
04:56I asked the Parliament Research Service before the elections to give me the numbers, and Orban has
05:01vetoed more than pretty much everyone else combined. Every single unanimous decision we have taken in
05:07the last years, first we get a veto from Viktor Orban, and he demands concessions, he blackmails the
05:12Union. So I think we have never seen anything like him in the history of the European Union.
05:18Right. Sander, do you agree? I mean, after all, pronouncing a veto, that's his right?
05:23Yeah, that's the right of smaller member states. I think in the last years I can agree with Mr. Freund
05:29that there was an abuse, especially also for the interest of foreign actors, foreign states, third
05:33countries. I think that was worrying. But in the end, we need this veto to defend the rights of smaller
05:40countries as a principle. In the case of Hungary, I think I worked alongside Fidesz during many years,
05:46when I was a parliamentary advisor here in the institutions, and back then they were really
05:51aligning always with the Juncker Commission, in the first years with the von der Leyen Commission.
05:57So I don't think they're the ones always blocking EU policy. Not always blocking. He did block
06:05everything on Ukraine, basically. Is this today, is this the beginning of a new dawn?
06:13Is spring coming to Brussels? What's going to be the vibe here in this town?
06:16I mean, the veto in chief is now gone. So I hope clearly that now there is a real willingness
06:24to act.
06:25But I also hope that member states understand that we cannot let this happen ever again. We should not
06:32allow a second Orban to now emerge, either because he comes back one day or someone else follows in
06:38his footsteps. I mean, that a single guy can basically block an entire union, can risk our security, and
06:45uses the veto not to defend his or the Hungarian interest, but to just basically blackmail and extort from
06:51us. This is something that we should not let happen ever again. So we need reform. We need reform.
06:57No, I think we would need to keep the unanimity principle as such the treaties and trying this
07:03principle not because it's such an idea of some Brussels bureaucrat. It was really well thought out
07:11because smaller member states need to be defended against larger member states through a qualified
07:18majority voting overruling their national interest. I myself, hailing from a small member state,
07:24the Netherlands know very well what this could mean. Small but powerful. Small but powerful,
07:28but nevertheless, I think we need to defend the smaller member states national national sovereignty as
07:33well. To be really clear, Peter Madja was elected on a national sovereignty electoral program,
07:40and I think it's a bit weird if we act now as if nothing of such ever happened. That's a
07:46good
07:46point. How confident are you that Peter Madja will actually change the dynamics and not throw in the
07:54veto? I mean, already has changed the dynamics, right? If you look at the relationship that Peter
07:59Madja has with people like Donald Tusk, with Emmanuel Macron now, they talk, they call each other on the
08:05phone. We haven't seen that with Viktor Orban in months and months. So already there is a different
08:10relationship. And I think he has been very clear that he wants a constructive relationship with the
08:16European Union. I think it's clear that the veto on the 90 billion for Ukraine will will go away,
08:21and we will be able to help Ukraine also financially now. And I think, I mean, having been there in
08:27Budapest on the ground on Sunday, when he said things like that he is going to have this constructive
08:32relationship, that he wants to join the European public prosecutor, jointly work against corruption.
08:37There were cheers from tens of thousands of people screaming Europe, Europe. So I think this is very
08:43different than what we have seen in the last 16 years from Viktor Orban. Of course, what Mr. Freund
08:49is speaking about is very important. But that was what I was pleading in favor of. We need coordinated
08:54unity, not forced unity, not a forced unity forced upon smaller members. We need coordination,
09:00nations speaking with other heads of government. And that's what Peter Magyar is doing now. That's
09:05very positive. But that doesn't mean we need to get rid of the unanimity principle. And I really doubt
09:11that Peter Magyar would agree with Mr. Freund to get rid of the unanimity principle, because he was elected
09:17as a national sovereignty. And we have a Hungarian parliament now. So I was a bit surprised to see left
09:23-wing
09:23and liberal politicians cheering for a new Hungarian parliament entirely composed out of right-wing,
09:30center-right, a national conservative, nationalist and ultra-nationalist parties. There's no Social
09:36Democrat, Green or Liberal Party left. So I think this conservative mandate given by the Hungarian
09:42voters is very clear and should also be respected in the European Union. And we have to work together to
09:48coordinate with Peter Magyar. And I'm very happy that he will unblock the 90 billion euro for Ukraine.
09:54But we shouldn't do as if he is now like a Volt or a Green MEP pleading in favor of
10:00a European
10:00federal federation. Your thoughts on this, Daniel? Well, I mean, having spoken with actually lots of
10:05Hungarians on the ground, this is not a conservative vote. I mean, most people in this election voted for
10:13Europe, voted for democracy, voted for the rule of law and voted to kick Viktor Orban out. This is what
10:19motivated most of the of those people that now voted actually for Peter Magyar. And the big question
10:25now for him is basically if he is going to represent that voter base or not. Because many people actually
10:33voted in this election with the hope that they will be able to cast their vote that they really want
10:38to
10:38cast in four years time. Once democracy has been restored, once there is independent media,
10:43once there is rule of law in the in the country. This was not about a conservative agenda.
10:48This was about getting rid of all right. All right. Let me stop you there as we are
10:53just getting warmed up here, as you have noticed.
10:59Now it's time for our viewers to get a real flavor of the European Parliament chamber where members ask each
11:06other questions. And sometimes it can get heated. That means it's time for you both to challenge
11:13each other directly, just as you do in the Himmels cycle behind us. So let's get started. And Sander,
11:20the floor is yours. Yes, Mr. Freund, you're really pleading in favor of getting rid of unanimity.
11:27What would you do in the future situation with the Greens in Germany being a coalition party,
11:32in a coalition in Germany, in Berlin, having this coalition forced a European Council decision upon them to,
11:40for instance, go to war, like in the past on Iraq or Iran? How would your party in that case
11:48react? Would you agree with such a stance being imposed on the German government to go to war by an
11:55EU decision?
11:57Well, I mean, I'm a Democrat. I'm being outvoted here in the European Parliament on an almost daily basis.
12:03That's how it goes. This is democracy. I'm not pleading for a veto here in the European Parliament.
12:09Imagine if among us 720 members of the European Parliament, we would have to strike consensus, we would have to
12:17reach unanimity on every decision.
12:18This House would be completely dysfunctional. And it's a little bit similar among 27 in the Council.
12:25So, yeah, I would accept decisions that go against my beliefs. I can fight for them. But at the end,
12:31we vote.
12:32And I accept that if we vote by majority, I can lose. All right. Are you happy with that?
12:37No, that basically means abolishing the national sovereignty of the German Bundestag over its foreign policy and military policy.
12:44That's a different question. And I want Daniel to ask Alexander.
12:48Well, my question is basically, I mean, you have said that, you know, the veto needs to remain.
12:53But if you look, for example, on the process of accession of a new member state, and I could even
12:59say, you know, taking a unanimous vote at the end, maybe we keep that for now.
13:04But do we need 150 unanimous votes in the process where every single question needs to be opened by unanimity,
13:13needs to be closed by unanimity?
13:15I mean, isn't 150 vetoes or unanimous decision on a decision like that a bit exaggerated?
13:20Can't we bring that down to maybe one in the end?
13:25The current treaty already has a passerelle clause to deal with such certain issues.
13:31I think we can find solutions there without doing away with national sovereignty and unanimity principle.
13:38And I will repeat myself, but Peter Madja in Hungary yesterday said that he's opposed to a quick accession, of
13:45instance, for Ukraine.
13:46So he wants to say about every step in the process, opening of every chapter.
13:51So I don't think most smaller member states would agree to your approach there.
13:57Follow up, Daniel?
13:58Well, I think at the end we have to decide whether we want a European Union that is still able
14:04to act in a world, you know, with Trump, with Xi, with Putin, whether we're just the playing ball for
14:11the big guys or whether we get a seat at the table and a voice that is actually heard.
14:16You speak a lot about sovereignty and, you know, our capacity to act.
14:20And I actually think we only have that if we're able to speak with one voice.
14:25And if we have the capacity to act, not one single European blocking us from that.
14:30How do you respond to that?
14:31I think we need to speak with one voice, but not through forced unity, but through coordinated unity.
14:38The European Union was able to act after the Russian criminal invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
14:44The EU acted upon that, provided support.
14:48So we shouldn't do as if the European Union was helpless with the unanimity principle.
14:53This is false.
14:54I think in the future we can even, your stance could even undermine support for the European Union and membership
15:00by bringing in this bomb of qualified majority voting, alienating smaller member states and creating more resentment among politicians.
15:11Maybe even among Peter Magyar in Hungary, but also in my own member state in the Netherlands.
15:15If you impose qualified majority voting, having France and your own member state Germany with a few others imposing their
15:22foreign policy or a military policy will upon my voters in the regions.
15:28Because you spoke about Budapest, I think that the population of capitals doesn't reflect the general population in EU member
15:35states or their stances.
15:37And I think the large majority of voters in the countryside and in regions want to uphold the unanimity principle
15:43to make sure that every voter in every region and every member state is heard.
15:47And these voters know very well we have to defend ourselves against foreign threats by third states and third countries.
15:54Sander, I gave you the last question.
15:56Yes, Mr. Freund, are you not worried?
16:00I already asked it, said it before, but aren't you worried that abolishing the unanimity principle will create resentment and
16:08alienate a lot of Europeans in these smaller member states having other stances than maybe majorities in larger member states?
16:15For instance, the Hungarian population, but also in the Netherlands or in Latvia, if we go towards qualified majority voting.
16:22Well, I mean, you mentioned Latvia, and I think the Baltic states are an interesting example.
16:27You know, they came out of Soviet rule, joined the European Union.
16:31And I think for a long time for them, the veto was in a way the guarantee, you know, that
16:36something like in the Soviet Union doesn't happen again.
16:38Exactly.
16:39But the problem being that since the full-scale invasion in Ukraine, the Baltic states are realizing that if you
16:45have someone like Viktor Orban in the EU that wields the veto,
16:49if all of a sudden you have unmarked Russian soldiers coming over the border into Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, well, then
16:56Orban becomes a security threat.
16:58Because he can block any kind of reaction.
17:01We don't even have an opinion on war crimes committed in Ukraine if Orban puts his veto in this, because
17:08we can't have a foreign policy decision.
17:09You're still reasoning in all terms, because Orban now is out of course.
17:14I mean, there will be others.
17:16You see how entrenched this thought was.
17:18But the problem is then, you know, that veto that can be in a way the protector of sovereignty can
17:24also become the supreme security threat.
17:27And that is the situation why I think we should get rid of it.
17:30All right.
17:31We have heard the views from our guests.
17:33Now it's time to bring in a new voice.
17:39I'd like to bring in European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen now.
17:42In a press conference this week, she commented on the outcome of the Hungarian election and gave a hint of
17:48what could come next in Brussels.
17:51Here's what she said.
17:52Take a listen.
17:52We should also look at the lessons learned inside the European Union.
17:58For example, I think moving to qualified majority voting in foreign policy is an important way to avoid systematic blockages,
18:10as we've seen in the past.
18:11And we should use the momentum now really to move forward on that topic.
18:16Sander, your thoughts on this?
18:18I think this is an example of a prepared, politically prepared, bureaucratically prepared, badly timed power grab by the European
18:27Commission, which has a lot to do about its own transparency and legitimacy among European voters in this era.
18:34I think that's what they should work on and not work towards abolishing national sovereignty on foreign policy, on military
18:42interventions, because as was said, military operation.
18:46We have NATO and the EU and we have seen that national democratic change is possible in Hungary, that the
18:52democratic will of Hungarian voters corrected the problems we had in the European Council on support for Ukraine last support
19:01bill.
19:01Did I hear that, right, power grab of the European Commission?
19:04I think it's quite the opposite.
19:06And you speak about the democratic will of the people.
19:09You know, if you look at an issue like whether large corporations should pay their fair share of taxes, you
19:14have an overwhelming majority of Europeans in every single member state that want that.
19:19But we cannot get there because a single member state, maybe one that has a very favorable tax regime for
19:26large corporations and helps to evade billions of taxes being paid, can put their veto on these kind of minimum
19:34taxation levels, for example.
19:36So this is another example where the veto is basically going against democracy, is going against the will of the
19:43vast majority of Europeans.
19:45All right. We'll come back to this. Let's take a break here on The Ring.
19:50We'll be back with more after this.
20:00Welcome back to The Ring, Euronews' weekly debate show.
20:04I'm Stefan Grobe and I'm joined by Daniel Freund from the Greens and Sander Smit from the European Conservatives and
20:10Reformists.
20:11The idea here is to bring the European Parliament's debates to your living room.
20:16This week, we're focusing on a key question in this building.
20:20Is the EU in need of wide-ranging reforms or not?
20:24One issue is the role of the EU High Representative, Kaya Callas.
20:28She heads the European External Action Service with its 140-plus EU delegations worldwide and employs more than 4,000
20:38staff.
20:38But, Kaya Callas, like all her predecessors, has no direct control over national armies.
20:44There's also no single centralized EU foreign policy budget.
20:48Funding is split across institutions and member states.
20:51And, Kaya Callas and her service must rely on a consensus of the 27 member states for foreign policy decisions.
20:59Is this efficient at all?
21:02No, it's not.
21:04I mean, why do we pay 28 different embassies in cities like Beijing or Washington?
21:11I mean, let's at least start with the councillor service.
21:14If a European needs a new passport, needs a birth certificate, something, why do we need 28 different administrations that
21:21they can turn to?
21:22Isn't one enough?
21:23That would be much cheaper for European taxpayers.
21:26Sander, your thoughts?
21:27Well, there's a matter maybe of inefficiency in diplomacy.
21:31But militarily, we already have Article 5 of NATO, Article 42 in the EU.
21:36And we should not, as an EU, start to double NATO infrastructure.
21:40We need to build on the European pillar, I think, jointly.
21:43But that's on a military capacity basis, not on the command structure.
21:48And I really, really would warn the European Union against assuming a role of commanding an EU army.
21:56That would be very dangerous and create a lot of resentment.
22:00But foreign policy, I mean, we're hearing every now and then that the commission president is sort of undermining the
22:06high representative
22:07by taking too much out of the foreign policy portfolio in her own hands.
22:12Why are we having a higher representative at all then?
22:15I mean, it is a bit of a strange animal because we didn't, when we last made these treaties,
22:20we didn't fully commit to have an EU foreign minister.
22:23The governments wanted more control.
22:25So she is half in the commission, half in the council.
22:28And that is precisely what creates this awkward position.
22:32But if you say, you know, this is about sovereignty.
22:35Look at the sovereignty of a place like Greenland.
22:39Greenland doesn't have sovereignty facing Donald Trump and the American administration.
22:45They had sovereignty when Europe was together and said, if you touch Greenland, you're going to, you know, have the
22:52joint EU against you.
22:54That's when we protected the sovereignty of Greenland.
22:57Not every small country for itself.
22:59Places like Luxembourg, like Estonia, even a place like Germany doesn't have sovereignty in the face of China, Russia or
23:06the US.
23:07Only together are we strong enough.
23:09But the case of Greenland perfectly shows that we're not a big player globally.
23:14And he mentioned that earlier.
23:15I think the agreement perfectly shows that if it's necessary, like the Ukraine war, at the start of the Ukraine
23:22war,
23:22the EU is willing and able to act with the current treaties jointly.
23:26We saw that on Greenland.
23:27We saw it on Ukraine, on the invasion by Russia.
23:30But if we look at Iran and the stances, the different stances of EU member states, Sanchez, Pedro Sanchez, maybe
23:37also Italy, but also France, Germany and other member states on the Israeli-American intervention against Iran,
23:44it's entirely divergent.
23:46And we saw this divergence also in the EU institutions.
23:49So it's doomed to fail to have a forced unity of foreign policy.
23:54In this way, we need coordination.
23:56And Greenland and the Ukraine cases show that the EU is already able, within the current treaties, to act if
24:03it's necessary.
24:04Because the EU, rightly so, defended Greenland.
24:06And I led a delegation of the Fisheries Committee last September to Greenland to also strengthen our ties with the
24:13fisheries sector there.
24:14We have a huge fisheries agreement there.
24:15And I really can only commend these cases as an example for the future.
24:21So it's versus speaking with one voice versus a forced unity.
24:27I don't know where this forced unity comes from.
24:29The question is just if people like the two of us, members of the European Parliament, actually have any kind
24:36of say on these questions.
24:37Because in the current setup, it's left to the 27 governments.
24:41We here adopt resolutions, but quite honestly, who cares?
24:44But the question is if the European Parliament, the directly elected representatives from all those citizens in Europe that send
24:51us here to the European Parliament,
24:53whether this Parliament has a role in the foreign policy decisions, in the diplomatic relations, we've got a say on
25:00trade.
25:01So some elements are there, but others are not.
25:03And it makes more sense if you have all the tools in your hand.
25:06Von der Leyen can threaten on boycotts and sanctions, but she doesn't have the other tools that Putin or Trump
25:14or Xi have in their hands.
25:16And that makes her weaker.
25:17Well, now it's time to move on to our fifth and final round, where we continue our conversation.
25:26Now it's time for something different.
25:28I'm going to ask you a set of questions and you can answer only with a yes or no.
25:34OK, so let's start with a simple one.
25:37Is Orbán's defeat a turning point for the EU, Sander?
25:39I think very much so, in the sense that we can now provide the Ukraine with a yes.
25:45Yes.
25:46Yes, good.
25:48Will Magia be an undisputed ally of Brussels?
25:51No.
25:52No?
25:52No.
25:53No.
25:54You guys agree on something here.
25:56Is unanimity making the EU weak on the world stage?
26:01Yes.
26:02Absolutely not.
26:03Would removing veto power make the EU more democratic?
26:07Absolutely not.
26:08Yes.
26:09And is the future of the EU federal?
26:12No, it's confederal.
26:14It is.
26:16Is the EU a credible actor on the world stage these days?
26:19Yes.
26:21Halfway, but rather yes.
26:24OK.
26:25Does Europe need a single foreign policy voice?
26:28No.
26:29Yes.
26:30Is this the moment for radical EU reform?
26:33Yes.
26:35No.
26:36Let's keep it away.
26:38That's a good one.
26:39Are national governments the problem in EU decision making?
26:43When you sit in the parliament, that's how it looks like, yeah?
26:47Absolutely not.
26:48And national governments have the most direct mandate in the European Council.
26:52No.
26:53We're elected on EU election programs.
26:55National governments are national elections, so they have no direct mandate for EU affairs.
27:00Our national elections have the highest turnout of voters, the most direct media attention.
27:05And I think in the principle of subsidiarity enshrined in the treaties, we need to look upon
27:09these national parliaments as the prime expression of the national will.
27:14Fascinating conversation here for a yes or no question.
27:16That final answer brings us to the end of this edition of The Ring.
27:20Thanks again to Daniel Freund and Sander Smit for a lively conversation here from the European
27:25Parliament.
27:26Thanks to our audience at home.
27:27If you like, you can continue the conversation by sending us your comments to thering at
27:33euronews.com.
27:35That's it for today.
27:36I'm Stefan Grobe.
27:37Take care and see you soon here on Euronews.
27:49Euronews.
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