Hungary votes for Europe

After 16 years in power, Viktor Orbán's rule has come to an end, with Péter Magyar's Tisza party securing a landslide victory and parliamentary two-thirds majority.

For those of us who have followed developments in Hungary closely and engaged directly with partners on the ground, this outcome is significant, and it calls for careful reflection.

CESI has a particular connection with Hungary. It is the Member State of our public sector member union MKKSz, who had a hard time standing up to the Orbán government. It is where our CESI Youth was founded more than a decade ago. It was in Budapest, in April 2023, that we convened the kick-off conference of our “Why Europe?” project, bringing together politicians, academics and trade union representatives to showcase what added value the European Union truly brings to citizens and workers.

It is from that vantage point that CESI has consistently raised its voice on Hungary. In 2023, our Presidium adopted a formal resolution condemning the Hungarian government’s proposed slashing changes to trade union financing legislation. It would have imposed additional administrative burdens on unions representing civil servants, healthcare workers, and public educators, in clear tension with the European Social Charter, ILO conventions and the EU’s Minimum Wages Directive.

That context matters. Sunday’s result does not simply erase those concerns. What it does is open a new chapter – one in which the institutions of social dialogue, judicial independence and press freedom may be given the space to be rebuilt. CESI will follow these developments closely. Our member union MKKSz remains our compass.

But Sunday’s result carries consequences beyond Hungary’s borders – and none more pressing than the matter of European solidarity with Ukraine. A €90 billion EU support facility for Ukraine — first agreed upon in December — has since then been blocked, held up by political calculations of Hungary in particular.

European solidarity and credibility cannot be held hostage to national political considerations, however those are framed. The situation has weakened support for Ukraine at a critical moment and sent a damaging signal about the EU's capacity to act decisively when it matters most.

This has strongly undermined the already dwindling trust between Hungary and the EU, and the increasingly escalating and, at times, grotesque attacks directed at Brussels and Kyiv in the run-up to the elections would have made cooperation with Budapest in the event of another Orbán victory practically impossible.

The change of government in Budapest, given Hungary's role in obstructing EU consensus on Ukraine, may now create the conditions for movement.

CESI remains committed to Hungary — to its workers, its trade unions — and committed to the wider European project of which the country is an indispensable part. We will engage on all matters touching on workers' rights, social dialogue and the quality of public services. Despite all its flaws, the European Union — our Union — is an incredibly challenging, yet wonderful project.

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