Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has once again raised the prospect of a Hungarian exit from the European Union, suggesting that the bloc’s authoritarian evolution may soon outweigh the benefits of membership.
Speaking in an interview with the far-right platform Ultrahang, Orban said that Hungary’s EU membership “still makes sense for now,” but warned, “if the time comes when it doesn’t, I’ll tell the Hungarian people.”
His comments mark a shift in tone, as Orban increasingly appeals to Eurosceptic and nationalist audiences amid signs of erosion within his traditional base.
At the heart of Orban’s criticism is the claim that the EU no longer resembles the economic alliance Hungary joined in 2004. Instead, he argues, Brussels has become an ideologically rigid political structure, coercing member states into adopting policies on gender, migration, and military aid for Ukraine that undermine national sovereignty. “Prosperity is no longer within reach in today’s EU,” he said, echoing similar sentiments expressed by Brexit advocates.
Orban also attacked the EU’s next seven-year budget, pledging to veto it over excessive funding for Ukraine and mechanisms that allow Brussels to withhold funds from member states deemed non-compliant with “EU values.” He warned the proposed budget could “ruin the EU” and predicted it would have to be rewritten.
What Orban is tapping into is not just domestic dissatisfaction but a deeper European undercurrent: growing resentment towards a centralised EU that increasingly governs through conditionality and threats rather than consensus. From Poland to Italy to the Netherlands, populist forces are rising in part because citizens feel disconnected from decisions made in Brussels that override local democratic processes.
While Orban’s critics—including Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski—accused him of coordinating with the Kremlin, such allegations sidestep the broader issue: a European Union that now uses financial blackmail, bureaucratic overreach, and ideological imposition to enforce uniformity. Orban may be an opportunist, but his critique reflects legitimate concerns about the EU’s authoritarian drift.
As Hungary clashes with the Commission, and as Budapest grants asylum to controversial Polish figures like Marcin Romanowski, tensions among former Eastern Bloc allies are flaring. What was once a pro-integration consensus in Central Europe is now fragmenting under pressure from both Brussels and Washington.
Whether or not Hungary ever exits the EU, Orban’s positioning makes clear that the authoritarian behaviour of the European institutions themselves is fuelling the disintegration they claim to prevent.
