WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE Eu - euobserver daily news - Wednesday 29 April 2026.

 

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Good morning. Will Viktor Orbán end up as an MEP in the European Parliament to shield himself from investigations at home? His campaign chief is now set to become an MEP, after a disastrous election result that led to a landslide victory for Hungary's incoming prime minister Péter Magyar. If an MEP from Fidesz resigns, the system in Hungary allows Fidesz to pick anyone from that 2024 list to fill the vacancy, including Orbán (#63). While all of this is still sheer speculation, it comes at a time when Hungary's Fidesz party enters into a prolonged period of soul searching. Orbán, once the dominant figure in Hungarian politics, has since relinquished his parliamentary mandate in the Hungarian National Assembly in Budapest. Meanwhile, segments of Hungary’s business elite and oligarchs are already distancing themselves from Orbán's crumbling power circle or leaving the country altogether. His billionaire son‑in‑law István Tiborcz moved to New York last year. It is now unclear if he will return. Magyar, in a post, said Orbán-linked oligarchs are also currently transferring tens of billions of forints to the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Uruguay, and other distant countries. He called on the chief prosecutor, the head of the police and the tax office to “detain the criminals" and not to allow them to flee. Others, including Orbán's childhood friend and Hungary's wealthiest man, Lőrinc Mészáros, are expected to travel to Dubai in the coming days, said Magyar. And although MEPs benefit from parliamentary immunity, that protection is not absolute and can be lifted under the right circumstances. Tamás Deutsch, who leads the Fidesz faction in the European Parliament, had his immunity waived earlier this week over a defamation dispute with Magyar's mother. To be fair, Deutsch said he wants to go to court over the affair. Nikolaj Nielsen, home affairs editor Top story Parliament’s €2 trillion budget push includes help for some of Europe’s embattled NGOs The European Parliament has proposed a €2 trillion budget for 2028-2034 that includes funding for civil society – which have come under sustained attacked over the past two years. What else you need to know Orbán oligarchs are moving assets abroad, as Magyar readies new anti-corruption measures Following the Hungarian election, hyper-wealthy circles around outgoing prime minister Viktor Orbán are moving assets out of the country, to places such as Dubai, the US and Uruguay. MEPs vote to slap tariffs on countries that refuse to take back migrants The European Parliament’s top trade MEP said that, in practice, the new rule allowing the EU Commission to impose tariffs on countries for refusing to take back migrants will be hard to apply. But it still marks a significant political shift. Orbán’s fall does not mean the end for Europe’s far-right think-tanks and financing Viktor Orbán’s regime turned Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), a private Hungarian educational institution, into a talent factory for Fidesz. By opening an office in Brussels and launching multiple events, MCC brought together rightwing politicians, journalists, academics, and other figures from across the world. These activities were facilitated by the peculiar financial arrangements granted to MCC by the Fidesz government. Time to agree a Europe-wide legal definition for rape, MEPs say MEPs are calling on the EU Commission to produce a legislative proposal that defines rape through a unified standard based on consent that is freely given, informed, and revocable. Russia lost a town and a helicopter in Mali. It cannot handle two fronts at once – African and Ukrainian Ongoing combat in Mali has seen Islamists and Tuareg rebels launch a joint offensive against the ruling junta and its supporting Russian forces. What would European military help safeguarding Hormuz actually look like? The current European debate – led by the UK, France, and Germany – suggests a timeframe of several months for maintaining a naval presence once a stable agreement is in place. This appears unrealistic for three reasons. While any projection remains speculative, the coalition’s naval presence is likely to remain in place for at least two to five years. After 40 days in a trench, soldiers no longer care whether they survive, says Ukrainian ombudswoman (Ukraine Battlefield update, Day 1,524) While reporting often focuses on drones and front-line shifts, the dire living conditions and malnutrition facing Ukrainian soldiers have recently gained renewed attention. In case you missed it EU silent on whether Taliban envoys will visit Brussels Contacts with the Taliban, who rule Afghanistan, have been going on since at least August 2021, when the EU announced it would reach out to the group to help protect women and girls, after they took over the country. The Taliban have issued around 100 decrees, including bans on education and measures that effectively silence women. EU urged to face down pressure to reopen deforestation law amid review The EU commission confirmed that it would publish a review of the law this week, but refused to be drawn on what it might recommend. However, officials have indicated that they will use the review to propose targeted tweaks to simplify implementation and adjust the list of products covered by the regulation.  Chernobyl: the work of self-confident fools, after whom invisible heroes had to clean up The 40th anniversary of a major nuclear accident is a good opportunity to reflect on whether something similar can happen again today.