Hungary’s Prime Minister Péter Magyar (L) and Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk shake hands at the end of a joint press conference at the garden of the Polish Prime Minister’s residency in Warsaw, Poland, on May 20, 2026.
WOJTEK RADWANSKI / AFP
The Hungarian prime minister unironically said Hungary can learn from Poland on how the rule of law can be restored in a country.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar met with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on what was his first official visit abroad. Magyar declared at a joint press conference with Tusk in Warsaw that the Polish PM will be his “partner in everything.”
The trip took place just ten days after the new Hungarian prime minister took office. During the visit, he was scheduled to meet both Donald Tusk and Polish President Karol Nawrocki.
The visit comes amid efforts to rebuild Polish-Hungarian relations, which had cooled after Donald Tusk returned to power in Poland. The significance of the trip also lies in Magyar appearing to want to emulate Poland’s practices in securing European Union funds following the ousting of the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government.
Magyar is in fact expected to walk a similar path to Tusk, whose candidacy in Poland in 2024 was heavily supported by the EU. Brussels had held important EU funds back from the country under the right-wing PiS government and unfroze the money once Tusk was in power, without waiting for any concrete policy changes. Similarly to PiS, the Orbán-led Fidesz government had also for years been fighting for funds the country was legally entitled to without success, while now, with the government change after the April 12th elections, it is likely that the ousting of Brussels’ archfoe will be rewarded with the long-awaited money.
For his part, Tusk expressed support for strengthening cooperation among the Visegrád countries and emphasized the need for cooperation on illegal migration and energy security. During the press conference, he also addressed the issue of Ukraine, saying he supports Kyiv’s accession to the European Union, something Magyar has also publicly endorsed recently.
The Hungarian prime minister also confirmed Hungary’s support for rebuilding and strengthening Visegrád cooperation. He officially invited Donald Tusk, along with the Czech and Slovak prime ministers, to a V4 summit planned for Budapest at the end of June.
Magyar further proposed that the Visegrád cooperation could eventually be expanded to include countries such as Austria, Croatia, and the Baltic and Scandinavian states.
In his remarks at the press conference, Magyar stated that Poland has much to teach Hungary about how to restore the rule of law, fight corruption, and unblock EU funds. Recalling Tusk’s defeat of right-wing PiS, Magyar said his host in Warsaw “was also faced with similar problems,” adding
And I am counting heavily on the experience of the prime minister of Poland.
Energy security and Russian energy dependence were also discussed during the press conference. Donald Tusk stated that Poland was prepared to help Hungary diversify its energy sources, arguing that energy independence is a fundamental condition of national sovereignty.
Zolta Győri is a journalist at europeanconservative.com.
