Hungary's Magyar visits Poland on first trip abroad as PM, seeks to reset EU ties
Magyar's Diplomatic Mission and Key Agendas
By Barbara Erling and Krisztina Than
Symbolism and Political Context
KRAKOW, Poland, May 19 (Reuters) - Hungary's Prime Minister Peter Magyar began a two-day visit to Poland on Tuesday, his first trip abroad since taking office and one 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 is a feat that Magyar hopes 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.
"We just need to go back to normality," Magyar told reporters in Krakow. "So we need to talk to each other and seek what we have in common, and similarities, and this is not hard when it comes to Polish-Hungarian relations."
Itinerary and Strategic Travel Choices
From South to North
Magyar's visit will take him across Poland, from Krakow, where he landed on Tuesday with a commercial flight, to the capital Warsaw and then the Baltic port city of Gdansk.
Symbolic Use of EU Infrastructure
Magyar said on Monday he would 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.
Delegation Accompanying Magyar
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.
Key Discussion Topics
The Fugitive Minister Case
One possible topic of discussion is how former Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who is wanted by prosecutors in Warsaw on abuse of power charges and had been granted asylum in Hungary by Viktor Orban, managed to flee to the United States before Magyar's inauguration.
Magyar said on Monday that Ziobro did not fly to the U.S. directly from Hungary. On Tuesday Magyar said he would tell the Polish government what he knows about the former minister.
Energy Independence and Cooperation
Magyar has pledged to end Hungary's dependence on Russian energy by 2035 and that energy will likely be on the agenda in Poland, adding that it is "a priority issue for both countries".
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.
Regional Security and Visegrad Group
Support for 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.
Expanding the Visegrad Four
"Our aim is that the Visegrad Four should possibly be expanded with other countries, Austria and others," Magyar said on Tuesday. The group currently comprises Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
(Reporting by Barbara Erling in Krakow, Marek Strzelecki in Warsaw, Gergely Szakacs and Krisztina Than in Budapest, Additional reporting by Alan Charlish, Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Chiara Rodriquez and Gareth Jones)
