Orbán’s chumminess with Putin isn’t just shameful – it is a threat to Europe’s security

Hungary's leader is at the heart of EU institutions - so Russia is, in effect, there too. Europe must take swift action

The image of a smirking Vladimir Putin clasping hands with Viktor Orban sent shockwaves around western capitals, and rightly so. Putin, wanted for war crimes, with an active arrest warrant from the international criminal court, stood side by side with Orban, representing a European Union and Nato member state.

The Orban-Putin in-person talks, their first since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, came as the pair attended a state ceremony in China to mark 10 years of Beijing's belt and road initiative. The Beijing gathering showcased a shocking tableau: a gathering of authoritarian leaders, including Putin and the Taliban leadership - and in the middle of them, Orban, prime minister of a supposedly democratic EU member state.

Katalin Cseh is a Hungarian member of the European parliament for the Renew Europe Group

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