Hungary’s Magyar visits Poland on first foreign tour as PM, seeks EU reset

Hungary’s Prime Minister Peter Magyar has begun a two-day visit to Poland, his first foreign tour since taking office, in a trip seen as highly symbolic as he moves to steer the country back toward the European mainstream.

The visit comes after his landslide election victory over nationalist former Prime Minister Viktor Orban in April, a result that has been interpreted as part of a broader political shift in Central Europe away from eurosceptic nationalism, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

Magyar is set to meet Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose pro-European coalition came to power in 2023 and restored relations with Brussels, including unfreezing billions of euros in EU funds previously withheld over rule-of-law concerns. Relations between Warsaw and Budapest had deteriorated sharply during recent years, particularly over disagreements on Ukraine and Hungary’s closer ties with Russia.

The current visit is being viewed as an effort to reopen dialogue on European policy and Ukraine after a period of frozen contacts, with Polish officials describing it as a gesture toward restoring traditionally strong bilateral ties. “It is very clear that they want to restore relations with Poland to a very good level,” one official said, adding that the talks signal a return to closer cooperation. 

During the trip, Magyar will travel across Poland from Krakow in the south to Warsaw and onward to the Baltic port city of Gdansk. He is expected to travel by train to Warsaw on a high-speed rail line funded by the European Union, referring to it in remarks as an example of infrastructure built with EU support while echoing domestic political debates about Brussels. He also said the journey reflects plans to eventually develop a high-speed rail connection between Warsaw and Budapest.

Magyar is accompanied by several ministers, including Foreign Minister Anita Orban, Economy and Energy Minister Istvan Kapitany, Transport and Investment Minister David Vitezy, and Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, with the delegation’s composition reflecting the range of issues under discussion.

Energy is expected to be a key focus of the talks, with Magyar pledging to end Hungary’s dependence on Russian energy by 2035. Warsaw is reportedly planning to offer Budapest access to U.S. liquefied natural gas via a new terminal in Gdansk expected to begin operations in 2028. Polish energy group Orlen has already been supplying U.S. LNG to Ukraine.

The visit is also expected to cover continued support for Ukraine and the future of cooperation within the Visegrad group of Central European countries. Hungarian officials are seeking Polish backing in discussions on unblocking EU funds, a process still subject to political and procedural considerations, with analysts noting that such support could prove important for Budapest’s position in Brussels.

News.Az 

By Leyla Şirinova