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Throughout the 2016 campaign for the US presidency, Viktor Orbán emerged as the only EU chief to support Donald Trump. This alignment was hardly surprising, given Mr Orbán's championing of controversial notions such as population replacement concept and the suppression of press independence. Commentators have noted that Mr Orbán more or less wrote the playbook for the Maga movement, with one-time strategist Steve Bannon lauding him as a precursor to Trump.

Political Favors Before the Hungarian Vote

Last week, with key votes in Hungary just half a year off, Donald Trump returned some political favors. While Orbán aims for a fifth term in office leading a country he describes as an illiberal democracy, his political group currently trails in the polls. An official trip to the US capital produced not just some autographed Trump merchandise; it secured considerably more valuable campaign boosts.

Waivers and Financial Shields

Even though before admonishing European nations on the need to eliminate all resource supplies from Russia, and warning of penalties against states persisting to import Russian energy, Donald Trump approved to grant a particular exclusion for the Hungarian government – the biggest user in the EU of Russian crude. As Orbán stated, the US government also pledged to offer a fiscal buffer to the Hungarian authorities if it encounters any future difficulties, given that Brussels is still blocking substantial EU funds to the nation on grounds of rule-of-law breaches.

The specifics of this agreement are unclear. But Mr Trump has shown his readiness to support political friends after the US provided a $20bn emergency credit line to Argentina’s far-right president, Javier Milei. Even though the Hungarian PM failed to obtain a presidential tour to the Hungarian capital, the Oval Office meeting still proved a profitable day’s work.

Brussels' Worries and International Implications

Among European leaders, the US president's move will have further underlined the geopolitical stakes of the coming election, before which the moderate contender, Péter Magyar, has a solid advantage in opinion data. Heads of state are accustomed not to expect steady principles from the Trump White House, and have grown used to the US president’s attempts to undermine the EU. But the special treatment for Orbán – secured through an deal to acquire American natural gas and nuclear power – openly contradicts the bloc's aims to eliminate imports of Russian energy by the target date.

• Starting in 2022, the largest EU buyers of Russian petroleum, Hungary and Slovakia, have provided more than ten billion pounds to the Moscow's war operations.
• Meanwhile, Hungary has repeatedly used the threat of its veto to hinder advancement in negotiations for Ukraine's EU membership.
• While Europe works to develop a cohesive plan for aiding the Ukrainian government, and bolstering its position in any future peace negotiations, Orbán's pro-Russia stance at the international forums is still a key barrier.

Opposition Stance

Mr Magyar has refrained from vowing a drastic turnaround on the Ukraine conflict, and directed his efforts on home affairs, while highlighting the necessity for the country to finally behave as a positive member state. After enduring so many years of trolling, Brussels can only wait and hope. The Hungarian leader's apathy to fundamental European principles, including the protection of minority groups and the freedom of non-governmental organizations, has long been a source of shame for the bloc. His persistent opposition regarding the Ukraine issue threatens to weaken its future security.