Peter Magyar

Good morning from Brussels.

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Events in Washington DC this weekend caught Brussels off guard as officials were enjoying the start of spring.

A 31-year-old man named as Cole Tomas Allen has been arrested after opening fire Saturday evening outside the reception hall of the annual White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA gala), which Donald Trump was attending for the first time. The White House says it was a targeted attempt at the life of Trump and his officials.

Fortunately, no one was killed.

In Europe, EU leaders quickly voiced support for the US President, who had skipped the event for years before agreeing this time to attend, despite strained relations between the White House and the press corps under his second term.

“I just spoke to @POTUS Donald Trump to express my solidarity with him and @FLOTUS after the attempted attack,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X. She added that “political violence has no place in our democracies”.

French President Emmanuel Macron called the incident “unacceptable”, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said: “We decide by majorities, not by the gun.”

Transatlantic tensions briefly faded, even as Reuters reported the US could seek to suspend Spain from NATO over its refusal to back the US and Israel’s war in Iran.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez played down the threat and joined EU leaders in condemning the attack. “Violence is never the answer,” Sánchez wrote on X. “Humanity will only move forward through democracy, coexistence and peace.”

On Sunday, Trump rejected any link between the armed intrusion at the WHCA dinner and the Middle East war. He said the incident would not “deter” him from “winning the war”.

Earlier in the weekend, Trump cancelled a trip to Pakistan planned for envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, writing on social media: “Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work!” He added, referring to Iran: “There is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership’.”

On his side, after going to Oman and Pakistan over the weekend, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghtchi landed in Russia to meet Vladimir Putin.

According to the Iranian news agency Fars, Tehran has sent, via Pakistan, written messages to Washington regarding its “red lines” in the negotiations.

After talks with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, Araghchi wrote on Telegram that he had briefed his French counterpart on ceasefire developments and ongoing diplomatic efforts “to end the imposed war”. He stressed “the importance of European countries playing a constructive role in this process”.

Meanwhile, in Lebanon, the situation remains fragile. Over the weekend, Israel and Hezbollah accused each other of violating the ceasefire.

The Shia Islamist political party and military organisation released several statements on Sunday saying its fighters targeted Israeli troops and positions in response to Israeli ceasefire violations and attacks on Lebanese villages.

On Sunday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a group of ministers and senior security officials to discuss both Iran and the situation in Lebanon, according to local media. One option under consideration is escalating strikes against Hezbollah, including targeting areas beyond southern Lebanon.

At least 2,509 people have been killed and 7,755 injured in Lebanon since the start of Israeli strikes in early March, the country’s health ministry said.

Lebanon’s Minister for Displaced Persons, and Technology and AI, Dr. Kamal Shehadi told Euronews’ Europe Today that “the truce is not holding” but there are “clear signs that both sides are making an effort” to avoid escalation beyond the current level of violence.

Shehadi said the government’s most important leverage to help disarm Hezbollah is having the vast majority of the Lebanese people backing them and calling for Hezbollah to surrender its weapons to the Lebanese Armed Forces.

“The international community is supportive of Lebanon’s intention to control all the weapons on Lebanese territory. Now, that’s not enough, clearly, and so what we need to do is continue to put pressure on Hezbollah to get Hezbollah to accept and to relinquish its weapons, because the weapons today are only going to bring more retaliation from Israel,” Shehadi said. Watch the full interview here.

Meanwhile, Brussels is preparing for the visit of Péter Magyar, whose opposition party won Hungary’s 12 April election.

“I will travel to Brussels on Wednesday for informal talks with the President of the European Commission on unlocking EU funds,” he wrote on X. “We have no time to waste.”

A honeymoon now begins between Budapest and Brussels after 16 years of tension under outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who announced on Saturday he won’t take up his seat in parliament after his Fidesz party suffered a heavy loss in the 12 April vote.

Meanwhile, incoming Prime Minister Magyar said on Saturday he had information that wealthy figures linked to Orbán’s outgoing government were moving assets abroad and called on authorities to detain fleeing oligarch families.

“I am aware that Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV), based on reports from banks, has suspended several high-value transfers linked to Antal Rogán’s circle on suspicion of money laundering. I call on the leadership of NAV to immediately freeze these stolen funds,” Magyar wrote on X, referring to the outgoing top minister under Orbán’s administration.

On 40th Chernobyl disaster anniversary, Zelenskyy accuses Russia of committing ‘nuclear terrorism’

As Ukrainians marked the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of “nuclear terrorism”, alleging it repeatedly sends attack drones over the site.

On social media, Zelenskyy warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has once again pushed the world to “the brink of a man-made disaster”.

He also said drones now regularly fly over Chernobyl. “The world must not allow this nuclear terrorism to continue, and the best way is to force Russia to stop its reckless attacks.”

Russian strikes on Ukraine continued through the anniversary, with Moscow launching 144 drones in a barrage during the night between Saturday and Sunday.

Read the full story by Lucy Davalou.

Germany suspects Russia of Signal phishing attacks targeting politicians

The German government believes Russia is behind a new phishing campaign targeting lawmakers and senior officials via the Signal messaging app.

The incident is the latest in Moscow’s hybrid war targeting Europe.

Victims are said to receive messages posing as Signal support, prompting them to enter a PIN, click a link or scan a QR code. If successful, the scam gives hackers access to messages, group chats, and any photos or files shared by the user.

Media reports say at least 300 accounts belonging to political figures were compromised. Civil servants, diplomats, military personnel and journalists were also targeted.

Vice-President Andrea Lindholz (CSU) has ruled out banning Signal, saying MPs should be free to decide how they communicate.

You can read the story of Sonja Issel & Evelyn Ann-Marie Dom here.

More from our newsroom

Zelenskyy says he is ready to meet Putin in Azerbaijan. On a visit to Azerbaijan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is ready to meet Vladimir Putin there, as US-led diplomatic talks have stalled in recent weeks. Read **Sasha Vakulina’**s story here.

Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe becomes first person to run marathon in less than two hours. In London, Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe made history by becoming the first athlete ever to break the two-hour barrier in the marathon. Jesús Maturana has the full story.

Today we are also keeping an eye on

– European Parliament plenary session kicks off in Strasbourg. A debate on the “Importance of consent-based rape legislation in the EU” is scheduled later today.

Published on
14/04/2026 – 15:39 GMT+2

Viktor Orbán has positioned Hungary as a European centre for Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers, while disregarding the EU’s tariffs on them.

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Now his political successor, Péter Magyar, appears less inclined to reverse that policy in a radical way.

At a press conference on Monday following a landslide victory against Orbán, Magyar praised China as “one of the most important, largest, and strongest countries in the world.”

“I am very happy to travel to Beijing, and we are very happy to welcome Chinese leaders here in Hungary,” he added.

Magyar also said he would “review” Chinese investments in Hungary – particularly on electric vehicles – but “not with the aim of shutting them down or preventing them from happening.”

In recent years, Hungary was eager to attract Beijing’s largeness, with BYD building its first European passenger EV factory in Szeged in 2024 and major firms such as CATL, NIO and EVE Energy investing heavily in the country.

But that open-door policy has increasingly clashed with the EU’s push to tighten scrutiny of Chinese investments, as China floods Europe with low-cost imports and as many as 600,000 job losses are projected in the EU in the bloc’s auto sector this decade amid intensifying competition from Chinese manufacturers.

Magyar will also have to deal with concerns over alleged forced labour involving Chinese workers at Hungarian plants of EV giant BYD, as well as a recent European Commission probe into unfair subsidies at the same site. Those developments have tarnished the company’s reputation and raised concerns over Beijing’s investments.

Driving more value from investment in Hungary

At his press conference on Monday, the leader of Hungary’s Tisza party did not enter details. But he made clear that Hungary would align its policy more closely with Brussels.

“Rather, the goal is to ensure that those projects comply with European Union and Hungarian environmental regulations, health procedures, and labour safety standards, and contribute to the performance of the Hungarian national economy,” Magyar added.

He also appeared determine to distance himself from Orbán’s wariness of a recent European Commission proposal on “Made in Europe,” which targets China.

The draft law, currently discussed by EU governments and MEPs, would impose stricter conditions on foreign direct investment above €100 million in sectors such as batteries, electric vehicles, solar panels and critical raw materials.

Under the proposal, investors from countries holding 40% of global market share in a given sector would be required to hire at least 50% of EU workers. Additional conditions could include foreign ownership caps below 49%, joint ventures with European partners and technology transfers.

“What we do not want — and will not accept — is for foreign companies to come, receive significant Hungarian state support, employ very few Hungarians, create little to no added value for the Hungarian economy, and at the same time endanger the quality of Hungary’s land, air, and water,” Magyar added, signalling his intention to align policy more closely with Brussels.

The Budapest Stock Exchange jumped over 3% to a record high of more than 136,000 points on Monday as markets priced in the end of 16 years of Viktor Orbán’s time in power and the potential return of Hungary to a more mainstream European path.

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Increased investor appetite pushed the country’s largest listed companies, including OTP Bank, MOL, Richter, and Magyar Telekom to gain between 2%-5% by 1 p.m. CET.

The move contrasts with broader European markets, which are trading lower, digesting the failure of US-Iran negotiations over the weekend with no indication of further talks.

At the election on Sunday, Péter Magyar’s Tisza party secured 138 seats in the 199-seat Hungarian parliament, securing a supermajority and fuelling expectations of a seismic shift in the country’s politics.

Magyar, a former Orbán ally turned fierce critic, has promised to restore democratic checks and balances and unlock €17 billion in EU funds frozen over democratic backsliding under Orbán’s government.

This could be accompanied by access to low-cost loans for defence and infrastructure, fuelling the fragile growth of the Hungarian economy.

Speaking to Euronews, Timothy Ash, a senior emerging markets strategist at RBC Global Asset Management, explained that “the market is reacting to a combination of uncertainty dissipating, as there was a real concern of election results being contested, and renewed optimism for policy changes that should align Europe”.

“Magyar will need better relations with the EU. There are lots of structural funds that will probably get released, and the market knows the economic policy team well,” he added.

Ash also said that the likely pick of András Kármán as the new finance minister, “a very credible person,” will further stabilise the country’s near-term growth.

Kármán is currently Tisza’s economic advisor and previously served as a member of the board of directors at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Investors appear to view the result as removing a long-standing political risk premium that had weighed on Hungarian assets.

The two-thirds parliamentary majority secured by Tisza will allow swift legislative changes, including the potential removal of sector-specific windfall taxes that had squeezed banks, energy firms and retailers.

Morgan Stanley and other analysts have noted that such a shift could lift Hungary’s GDP growth potential by 1 to 1.5% in the coming years through higher investment and restored EU transfers.

Hungarian currency strengthens on reform optimism

The Hungarian currency joined the rally, climbing to its strongest level against the euro in more than four years.

The EUR/HUF rate fell to 366.64, its lowest since April 2022, while the forint also gained sharply against the US dollar.

Market observers attribute the currency’s strength to expectations of reduced political uncertainty and renewed foreign capital inflows once EU funds resume.

However, Ash explained to Euronews that “Hungary has a very high real rate compared to, say, Poland. I think the central bank has maintained very high real rates because of political risk”.

“They were very concerned about maybe the currency weakening around elections, but are very eager to have a stable currency.”

Last month, the National Bank of Hungary held its benchmark rate at 6.25%, whereas in Poland, for example, it is currently steady at 3.75%.

“Maybe we’ll see a normalisation of real rates in Hungary towards [those closer to] Poland, and that means rate cuts, probably. Investors will likely focus on rates more than the currency as Hungary will also need economic stimulus to catalyse growth,” Ash added.