Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban signaled a renewed push to expand Budapest’s influence in Romania’s Transylvania region, pledging deeper support for ethnic Hungarians abroad and reviving rhetoric about Hungary’s historical grievances. In a wide-ranging interview published on July 5 with the Transylvanian newspaper Kronika, Orban emphasized that Hungary’s financial and cultural support for ethnic Hungarians beyond its borders is a matter of national unity, not charity.
Orban’s comments underscore a longstanding element of his government’s foreign policy — using soft power to solidify influence in neighboring countries with sizable Hungarian minorities. “This is not a gift, it’s our duty,” Orban said, insisting that Budapest’s subsidies and programs are aimed at nurturing a single Hungarian nation, even if “divided by borders”.
The interview coincided with Orban’s visit to Romania, where he also made pointed historical references. He claimed that Hungary has been “kept small and poor” since the 1920 Treaty of Trianon — a theme frequently used in nationalist Hungarian discourse to frame contemporary policy. While Orban stopped short of directly calling for a revision of European borders, his statements were widely interpreted as veiled revisionist messaging.
Targeted influence in Romania and beyond
Hungary’s government has long funded schools, churches, media outlets, and cultural institutions serving ethnic Hungarians in Transylvania, a region that was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the post-World War I settlement. However, critics argue that such programs function less as cultural preservation and more as instruments of political influence.
The Orban government has faced repeated criticism for distributing Hungarian passports en masse in parts of Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, and Ukraine — a move that has alarmed several governments in the region. While these efforts are legally framed as outreach to Hungarian minorities, they have also been used to enroll foreign citizens in Hungary’s elections, a practice that European institutions have refused to endorse due to concerns over electoral integrity and sovereignty violations.
Soft power as pressure tool
Budapest’s foreign policy increasingly blends state-sponsored cultural diplomacy with political messaging aimed at shaping domestic debates in neighboring states. In Transylvania, Hungarian-funded media outlets and NGOs often echo the Orban government’s conservative and nationalist narratives, exerting growing influence on local Hungarian communities. While officially cast as cultural cooperation, this strategy has translated into mounting political pressureon regional governments.
Orban’s framing of Hungarians outside Hungary as part of a unified nation also feeds anxieties about revanchism. The notion of a “Greater Hungary,” though never officially adopted as policy, remains a symbolic and emotional touchpointin Orban’s domestic rhetoric. Critics warn that such nostalgia undermines regional stability, particularly amid rising nationalism and geopolitical tension in Central and Eastern Europe.
Regional risks amid growing turbulence
Romania and other neighbors of Hungary have consistently pushed back against Budapest’s actions, accusing Orban’s administration of interfering in internal affairs and sowing division under the guise of diaspora engagement. In Brussels, the EU has taken note of Hungary’s repeated defiance of norms related to foreign political financing and citizenship policies, especially as tensions rise over the future of Europe’s eastern front.
In his Kronika interview, Orban also claimed that “Europe is heading not towards peace, but towards war,” contrasting what he called U.S. efforts for peace — particularly under Donald Trump — with what he described as Europe’s obsession with “beating the Russians” in Ukraine. The remarks echo his earlier criticisms of EU military aid to Ukraine and suggest a widening rift between Hungary and its NATO and EU partners on key security priorities.
As Hungary prepares for its next election campaign, Orban appears determined to double down on cross-border outreach, leveraging identity politics and historical grievance to consolidate political support. But the strategy also risks further isolating Hungary within the EU, while straining ties with its neighbors at a moment of high regional volatility.
