Is the EU back in vogue?
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What recent events have led to a renewed interest in the EU?
This is The Guardian.
Today, is the EU back in vogue?
Now, I don't know how good your Hungarian is, but that is the sound of tens of thousands of Hungarians on the banks of the River Danube chanting, Europe!
It's fair to say that the EU is having a bit of a moment. After Viktor Orban was defeated in Hungary on Sunday, his rival, Peter Magyar, promised to repair relations with the EU.
Today, the Hungarian people said yes to Europe. They said yes to a free Hungary. Hungary will once again be a strong ally in the European Union and NATO.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, wasted no time in celebrating Orbán's fall.
So I would like to say that today Europe is Hungarian without any question. The people of Hungary have spoken and they have reclaimed their European path.
But it's not just the new prime minister of Hungary seeking a better relationship with the EU.
We're in a world where there's massive conflict, great uncertainty, and I strongly believe the UK's best interests are in a stronger, closer relationship with Europe.
Almost 10 years after the Brexit referendum, Keir Starmer is trying to reconnect with Europe too.
We've got to look forward now, not backwards.
How did the Hungarian election results impact EU relations?
Let's not just have all the old arguments of the last decade. Let's go forward and recognise that a stronger, closer relationship with Europe is in the UK's best interest.
But does Europe want us back? And how strong is the EU anyway, facing a future without American support and with a belligerent Russia on its borders? From The Guardian, I'm Helen Pitt. Today in Focus, the EU after Orban and with Starmer? Lisa O'Carroll, welcome back to Today in Focus. It's been a while. Can you just start by telling me why was the Hungarian election results celebrated so wildly by EU leaders?
Indeed, as one of our reporters said, it was a bit like watching a World Cup celebration.
Finally, I can say that I can be a proud Hungarian after 16 years.
I think one of the reasons why it was so extraordinary was the size of the majority that Peter Magyar won. Going into the election on Friday even, we were thinking here at The Guardian and the polls were showing that there could be a late swing, but that it would be very close. And the fear was that Orban, he would declare that the election was stolen and that would prompt a wave of, you know, yet more intervention from Vance and Trump. And that didn't happen.
What are the implications of Keir Starmer's vision for UK-EU relations?
Yeah, and I'm not sure I've ever seen Ursula von der Leyen look so happy. She was coming out with phrases like, Europe's heart is beating stronger in Hungary tonight. You had the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hailing Madja's win as a triumph for European values. Why did it matter so much to these big EU figures that Orban was defeated?
Well, Orbán has been an absolute thorn in the side of the EU for the last few years. Even for the year or so that I was there, every single council meeting, I had to deal with the challenge that Orbán would vote against whatever it was in relation to Ukraine.
It's simply anti-European when one person blocks decisions that are important for the entire continent or that have already been agreed upon.
So it's the disappearance of Orban from those quarterly, sometimes monthly meetings. I mean, there was one meeting, I remember, where they were discussing a really key thing for Ukraine, which was the enlargement and whether Ukraine could be fast-tracked into the EU. And Orban came in and said he wasn't going to vote for us. So again, it was going to be blocked. But they came up with this wheeze where Olaf Scholz, the then German chancellor, asked Orban to take a break. So he went out for a loo break. And in his absence, the 26 voted in favour of an enlargement process, including fast-tracking for Ukraine. So it allowed them to comply with their unanimity requirement, but also allowed Orban to go back to his own base and say, well, I didn't vote for it.
How does Viktor Orban's defeat change the EU's political landscape?
Right. Did he know that they were going to do that or was it sneaky?
Yes, he did. Yes, he did. Yes, he did.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What recent events have led to a renewed interest in the EU?
0:00–1:46
2
How did the Hungarian election results impact EU relations?
1:46–3:33
3
What are the implications of Keir Starmer's vision for UK-EU relations?
3:33–5:04
4
How does Viktor Orban's defeat change the EU's political landscape?
5:04–5:47
5
What challenges does the EU face with Russia and global instability?
5:47–7:09
6
How is the EU adapting to the rise of far-right parties?
7:09–8:43
7
What specific policies are being proposed to strengthen UK-EU ties?
8:43–10:34
8
Will the Labour Party's approach lead to a closer relationship with the EU?
10:34–28:12