In Hungary as well as in Britain, the European Union is back in fashion, writes an editorial in the British newspaper "Independent", quoted by BTA.
In Budapest, Viktor Orban's fall from power is seismic, but (British Prime Minister) Keir Starmer's efforts to build closer relations with continental Europe may prove just as important, the British publication notes.
A quarter of an hour after Viktor Orban admitted defeat in the parliamentary elections, the President of the European Commission could no longer hold back and declared on social media: "Hungary has chosen Europe. Europe has always chosen Hungary. One rose and set off on its European path again. The Union is getting stronger.
It is probably indelicate for a representative of the European Union to react in this way, notes the "Independent". In practice, however, von der Leyen was absolutely right, the newspaper writes. In the 16 long years that Orbán ruled, he became increasingly adamant and stubborn, with many beginning to wonder why Hungary did not simply leave the EU. In domestic affairs, he undermined Hungary's relatively young democracy and the freedoms won since the end of the Cold War, establishing control over the media and the judiciary.
In Brussels, he never acted as a "team player", especially when it came to the international challenge of migration. In foreign policy, he openly defended (Russian President) Vladimir Putin and became his ally, even though Hungary is a full member of the EU and NATO. Orban has repeatedly blocked – and sometimes even vetoed – key financial and other aid to Ukraine.
While he has squeezed what he can out of the EU budget, Orban has thought he is smart enough to build close friendships with President Trump and President Putin. Trump has sent his vice president, J.D. Vance, to Budapest to rally support for Orban.
But as Ursula von der Leyen notes, the people of Hungary – and especially the young – have chosen Europe instead. And convincingly. The new prime minister, Peter Magyar, is not a liberal. He was once a disciple of Orban. But he is a true Hungarian patriot and understands that there is no future for his country in becoming a satellite of Russia again, writes "The Independent". Magyar, 45, is a young leader, but he is resurrecting the spirit of the 1956 uprising against Soviet oppression. Ukraine now has a new and valuable ally, with an expected €90 billion in EU loans to Kiev (Viktor Orban blocked these funds - BTA note).
On the other side of the continent, in Britain, a more subtle and prosaic rethinking of relations with the EU is taking place. The debate is typically technocratic and sometimes ridiculous, but it is of great importance for the direction of movement after so much hostility and pain. The UK is creating a parliamentary mechanism - "dynamic alignment with EU single market rules" - to ensure that certain EU standards and rules for products can be smoothly and quickly adopted into UK law.
The move towards permanent harmonisation of certain UK and EU rules has come under attack from the Conservatives and "Reform UK", who have branded it a "betrayal of Brexit". However, the Labour Party's political platform makes it clear that the UK will not rejoin the EU single market or customs union, but will only "remove unnecessary barriers to trade".
At a time when America is becoming more and more officially hostile to the EU and the UK and their alleged "civilisational obliteration" of Western values, in which NATO is visibly fragmenting and China is rapidly emerging as the superpower with a claim to leadership in the 21st century, the importance of the European Union is, of necessity, increasing.
Across Europe, so-called Christian nationalist populists have amassed great political capital by blaming the EU for the problems facing their peoples.
In Hungary, Britain and elsewhere, however, more and more people seem to realise that, for all its shortcomings, the European Union is not a source of problems and threats, but is in fact the best guarantee of their prosperity and freedoms, concludes "The Independent".