April 14, 2026

Hungary’s future

44 minutes

In this special episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks with Bruegel’s Zsolt Darvas and Heather Grabbe about the historic Hungarian election of April 2026. Péter Magyar and his TISZA party won in a landslide over the Fidesz party and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has been in power for the past 16 years and changed the course of the European Union. Can Hungary unlock its EU funds and stay within its budget guardrails? What about the energy sector? Will the new government be more transparent about contracts with ties to Chinese and Russian investment? Is Hungary’s outlook on Ukraine likely to change? Will Hungary ever join the euro? How will the winners put together a new government to carry out their campaign promises? The discussion covers all this and more after nearly 80% of Hungarian voters went to the polls.

Related research:

Darvas, Z. (2026) ‘Hungary’s new beginning – under tight fiscal constraints’, First Glance,13 April, Bruegel.

Darvas, Z. (2019) 'With or without you: are central European countries ready for the euro?', Policy Contribution 12/2019, Bruegel.

Grabbe, H., J. Pisani-Ferry and J. Zettelmeyer (2025) ‘Updated assessment: Memos to the commissioners responsible for EU foreign, enlargement, and partnerships policies’, First Glance, 30 January, Bruegel.

'Hungary's revived euro adoption prospects', Finance Focus Event, 06 May 2026 with Júlia Király and Nicolas Véron, Bruegel.

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