Hungary’s Magyar visits Poland on first tour abroad as PM, seeks to reset EU ties

By Barbara Erling and Gergely Szakacs

WARSAW, May 19 (Reuters) – Hungary’s Prime Minister Peter Magyar begins a two-day visit to Poland on Tuesday, his first tour abroad since taking office, a trip rich in symbolism for a leader who is seeking to steer his nation back towards the European mainstream.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whom Magyar meets on Wednesday, led a pro-European coalition to power in Poland in 2023, mending ties with Brussels and unblocking billions of dollars in funds frozen over rule of law concerns.

It’s a feat Magyar is seeking to emulate after he won a landslide victory over nationalist Viktor Orban in April, a result which Tusk portrayed as a blow to authoritarian rule and part of a shift in Central European politics away from eurosceptic nationalism.

Relations between Warsaw and Budapest had deteriorated into outright hostility as Tusk and Orban clashed over the Hungarian leader’s confrontational approach to Ukraine and warm relations with Russia.

The visit is seen primarily as a symbolic reset after a period of effectively frozen contacts, aimed at reopening dialogue on European issues and Ukraine, a Polish government official said.

“It is very clear that they want to restore relations with Poland to a very good level,” the official added. “These are, I would say, gestures showing a return to the best traditions of strong bilateral ties.”

FROM SOUTH TO NORTH

Magyar’s visit will take him across Poland, from Krakow in the south to the capital Warsaw and then the Baltic port city of Gdansk.

Magyar said on Monday he will travel by train to Warsaw on Tuesday evening on “a high-speed rail line built with EU funding – by the ‘evil Brussels’,” alluding to Orban’s anti-EU rhetoric.

He said his decision to test out the Polish rail network came in the context of a desire to eventually build a high-speed link between Warsaw and Budapest.

Magyar will be accompanied by a host of ministers including Foreign Minister Anita Orban, Economy and Energy Minister Istvan Kapitany, Transport and Investment Minister David Vitezy and Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi.

“The areas of responsibility of the participating ministers naturally shape the direction of the talks,” Magyar said.

ENERGY HIGH ON THE AGENDA

Magyar has pledged to end Hungary’s dependence on Russian energy by 2035 and energy will be on the agenda in Poland.

“This is a priority issue for both countries, with the oil crisis being a major challenge,” Magyar said.

Warsaw plans to offer Budapest access to U.S. LNG via a new Gdansk terminal due to start operations in 2028, a source with knowledge of the matter said. Orlen has already been selling U.S. LNG to Ukraine.

Warsaw also plans to discuss support of Ukraine, as well as the future framework of cooperation in the Visegrad group of central European nations, officials said.

Hungary’s government wants Poland’s backing in talks on unblocking EU funds, as both countries had similar rule-of-law disputes.

“The decision has not yet been taken and will clearly be political as well as procedural, which is why this backing is crucial for Budapest,” said Wojciech Przybylski of the Visegrad Insight think-tank.

(Reporting by Barbara Erling and Marek Strzelecki in Warsaw, Gergely Szakacs in Budapest, Additional reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)