Especially for Ukraine, the Hungarian election results open the way for important measures within the EU.
Point one is the giant loan of over 900 billion Swedish kronor that has been promised to back up Ukraine in 2026 and 2027. Hungary has already said yes, but has blocked implementation during the election campaign.
The hope among other EU countries is now that the necessary formal loan decision in the EU Council of Ministers can be made even before the change of government in Hungary is complete.
Since Hungary has been exempted from participating in the borrowing, it is politically relatively easy for the outgoing government to give the go-ahead - in practice, just by avoiding actively voting no.
What does Szijjártó say?
Item number two is the EU's 20th sanctions package against Russia, which was presented in February ahead of the fourth anniversary of the attack in 2022.
Here it is probably more sensitive for Hungary to stop blocking outright. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has stubbornly stood up to criticism from his EU colleagues lately after revelations about reports he made to the Russian government in Moscow.
There is great curiosity about how Szijjártó will act at next week's EU foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg - if he even shows up.
The issue of both loans and sanctions will in any case be raised by the EU countries' ambassadors in Brussels "as soon as circumstances permit", officials from Cyprus, which holds the EU presidency this spring, said.
Membership in the EU
A third difficult issue is whether to agree to allow Ukraine to begin formal negotiations on EU membership. Here too, Hungary has blocked this, forcing Moldova to wait for negotiations to start.
Hungary's new leadership under Péter Magyar is expected to be almost as critical as Orbán when it comes to allowing Ukraine into the EU, especially as long as the war is ongoing. But at least allowing Ukraine to start negotiations is a different matter.
A clear sign here could also provide a real boost for work with countries like Montenegro and Albania, which hope to join the EU within a couple of years.
Frozen contributions
For Hungary itself, there is hope of recovering billions in grants and loans that have not been paid out due to concerns about corruption and misuse of EU funds.
However, clear measures are first required from the new government to live up to the principles of the rule of law.
"Our demands will remain high for words to be translated into action and for these necessary reforms to be implemented," says EU Minister Jessica Rosencrantz (M) to TT.
Here are some important points for the continued relationship between the EU and Hungary:
* Wednesday, April 15: regular ambassadorial meeting in Brussels.
* Tuesday, April 21: Foreign Ministers' meeting in Luxembourg.
* Thursday–Friday, April 23–24: Heads of State and Government hold a summit in Cyprus.
