Democracy Digest: Hungary’s Incoming PM Paves Way for Unfreezing of EU Funds

In what could only be described as a desperate bid for survival, the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), a pet project of Viktor Orban lavished with taxpayer money and assets to spread Fidesz’s ideology when in power, announced on Thursday it is ready to cooperate with the new government. The institution is visibly concerned about its future financing after Magyar said he would no longer fund the Fidesz-aligned institution and would do his best to reclaim state assets that had been transferred by the previous government to it and other institutions. In 2020, the Fidesz government handed MCC the state’s 10 per cent share portfolio in two Hungarian blue-chips, energy giant MOL and pharmaceutical company Richter – worth up to 280 billion forints (768 million euros) – to finance its activities and European expansion. The institution now has over 8,000 students in Hungary and neighbouring countries, across more than 30 locations, including its Brussels branch. Magyar’s words are not empty threats: he has already convinced MOL CEO Hernadi to delay dividend payments to the institution and Richter announced at the beginning of the week it would potpone dividend payments “until the academic autonomy of Hungarian universities is restored” (Fidesz reorganised most of Hungary’s universities by placing them in government-allied foundations). MCC justified its willingness to cooperate with the new government by calling its talent development program “a shared national interest that will define Hungary’s intellectual and economic future in the long term”. The institution highlighted it has been operating for more than 30 years, “providing opportunities for talented young people, regardless of financial situation, worldview, or social background”. Balazs Orban, the former PM’s political adviser and (failed) campaign guru who leads MCC, said: “Intellectual openness is a core value within the institution, and freedom of expression is fully guaranteed.”

Slovak PM warned over EU funds; farm funds under threat again

Slovakia has found itself under increasing scrutiny in Brussels as tensions grow over the government’s recent reforms. A majority in the European Parliament on Wednesday urged the EU Commission to examine whether conditions have been met to activate the rule-of-law conditionality mechanism – a tool that can ultimately lead to EU funds being withheld. The debate centres on the policies of PM Robert Fico. Changes affecting prosecutorial structures and oversight bodies have raised concerns among MEPs, who argue that weakening institutional checks could put European funding at risk. The government maintains that its actions are part of a broader effort to reshape the system, but critics see a pattern that echoes developments elsewhere. In particular, comparisons with Viktor Orban have become harder to ignore. Hungary’s long-running dispute with the EU over rule-of-law standards led to a partial freeze of funds worth billions. Many in parliament now argue that the EU should respond more quickly in Slovakia’s case to prevent a similar escalation. Not everyone in Slovakia agrees with that assessment. President Peter Pellegrini suggested that the pressure from Brussels reflects political disagreements rather than objective failings, and expressed hope that no funding would actually be suspended. Still, if the EU Commission decides to proceed, the process would involve a formal review and negotiations that could stretch over several months. Support for a firmer EU response cuts across political lines in parliament. German MEP Daniel Freund has been among those arguing that waiting too long, as in Hungary’s case, risks allowing deeper structural problems to take hold. The stakes for Slovakia are considerable. EU funding underpins a large share of public investment, from transport projects to regional development. Any disruption would be felt quickly, both economically and politically, at a time when the country’s relationship with the EU is already under strain.

Slovakia’s farm subsidy system is under fresh scrutiny after the EU Commission asked the Agriculture Ministry to conditionally suspend the accreditation of the Agricultural Paying Agency. The agency distributes around 750 million euros a year in EU agricultural subsidies to Slovak farmers. Brussels has also asked the ministry to prepare a timetable for fixing the shortcomings identified by its auditors. The warning follows an EU Commission audit carried out last October. According to the findings reported so far, the concerns include weak checks on conflicts of interest, poor detection of links between subsidy applicants, staffing problems, and failures to recover money that had been wrongly paid out. The case is politically sensitive because the agency has already been tainted by the Dobytkar (Cattle-breeder) corruption scandal, which exposed alleged bribery around agricultural grants between 2015-2020. Slovakia then risked losing part of its EU farm funding. Similar concerns are now returning under the current government. Agriculture Minister Richard Takac of Smer denies that farmers should worry. He says there is no reason to remove the agency’s full accreditation and argues that the opposition is using the issue politically. He has also said talks with the EU Commission will continue. A conditional suspension would not immediately stop payments. The agency could still distribute subsidies while carrying out reforms. But if Slovakia fails to act, the consequences could be far more serious, including financial corrections or the loss of accreditation altogether. That would leave Slovakia without a functioning body to pay EU farm aid. For farmers, the biggest unanswered question is whether the risk applies only to investment support, or also to direct payments, which make up a large share of their annual income.

Belarusian-Polish dissident freed; Poland and Ukraine unveil plans for “drone armada”

Shortly before 1:00pm on Tuesday, at the closed Bialowieza–Piererow border crossing, Andrzej Poczobut returned to Poland as part of the first exchange of prisoners and spies on Polish territory since World War II. He was one of five people released by Belarus, alongside two Polish citizens and two officers of the Moldovan intelligence services. In return, five individuals were transferred to Belarus. At the border, the released prisoners were greeted by PM Donald Tusk. “Welcome back to your Polish home, my friend,” Tusk later wrote on X. According to Gazeta Wyborcza, where Poczobut worked as a correspondent, negotiations had dragged on for two and a half years but only became effective when the Polish intelligence services coordinated efforts with its counterparts from the US, Romania, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus. Poczobut had been held in a penal colony in Navapolatsk, where he was repeatedly placed in solitary confinement and subjected to psychological torture. “They pushed me to the edge of my physical endurance. They were waiting for me to break. But they failed,” he told Gazeta Wyborcza. In 2025, Poczobut received the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize in absentia, alongside Georgian dissident Mzia Amaglobeli, for “their courageous fight for freedom of speech and the democratic future of Belarus and Georgia”. Following his release, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on X she was  “deeply grateful” to everybody who fought hard for his release, and that  Poczobut was “an unbreakable hero… held hostage by the regime in Belarus for simply telling the truth.” The swap took place at a crossing closed since 2021, when the Belarusian authorities began fomenting a humanitarian crisis on the border with Poland and the EU. Among those sent to Belarus was Alexander Butyagin, a Russian archaeologist affiliated with the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, who is believed to be linked to Russian intelligence. Ukraine had sought him for years over alleged illegal excavations in Russian-occupied Crimea. He was detained in Warsaw in December 2025 while returning from the Netherlands. Although a Polish court had approved his extradition to Ukraine, he was ultimately returned to Russia as part of the exchange. The Ukrainian embassy in Poland criticised the move, saying it had learned “with regret” that, despite an earlier and “fully justified” court decision, a Russian citizen suspected of crimes on Ukrainian territory had not been extradited. The embassy warned Russia would cynically use the episode to justify its occupation of Crimea.

Tusk and Ukrainian PM Yulia Svyrydenko used a conference in southern Poland on Monday to signal a step-change in defence cooperation between the two nations with plans for a “Drone Armada” – a project designed to fuse Ukraine’s battlefield-honed expertise with Poland’s industrial and financial capacity. Tusk argued Poland needs such a capability “so that we can not only continue helping Ukraine today, but also say, with full conviction, to the Polish people that we are safe.” Details remain sketchy, but the concept goes well beyond a single procurement program. Rather, it envisions an integrated ecosystem of unmanned systems – from reconnaissance and strike drones to artillery support and electronic warfare – linked through real-time data exchange. Framed as a marriage of “European funding, Polish companies and Ukrainian battlefield know-how”, the initiative is expected to draw on the European Defence Fund. Svyrydenko underscored how central drones are to Ukraine’s war effort: “Destroying tanks, high-value systems and drones is our reality – and we are capable of doing it,” she said, adding that defence innovation is now embedded in Ukraine’s broader reconstruction strategy, alongside EU integration and the rebuilding of human capital. The announcement came during the “Road to URC: Security and Defence Dimension” conference, a prelude to the “2026 Ukraine Recovery Conference” in Gdańsk, which is expected to become the largest international forum dedicated to rebuilding the country. The choice of location in the south was symbolic, as Rzeszow has become a gateway for refugees and a logistical hub for military aid since Russia’s 2022 invasion. Both governments stress a key pillar of the partnership will be technology transfer. In a December interview with BIRN, Polish Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk pointed to WB Electronics – a Polish defence firm producing, among other things, drones – as an example of a company already working with Ukraine. But, he suggested, the scale of cooperation will need to grow.

Choosing Czechia’s next army chief; far-right divides govt on vaccination strategy

Negotiations are underway between the president and government officials to appoint the next chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces – the army’s top job – after General Karel Rehka finishes his four-year stint this summer. President Petr Pavel met with Defence Minister Jaromir Zuna (a nominee of the far-right SPD party) this week to discuss names as the selection process continues. Zuna told reporters there were four top candidates but declined to give names, although some unconfirmed reports have already started speculating about potential candidates. The army chief – who leads the armed forces and is the main military advisor to the government – is appointed by the president on proposal of the government. Expected in May, the high-stakes nomination comes amid clear differences in how the head of the state – along with outgoing army leader Rehka – and the ruling coalition led by PM Andrej Babis see the Czech Republic’s defence policy in the years to come. Since the new government took office in December, Pavel has been an outspoken critic of the coalition’s low defence spending plans and inability to fulfil Czechia’s NATO obligations. Reports that SPD leader and lower house speaker Tomio Okamura insisted on meeting with prospective candidates for the top job have also fuelled concerns that the head of a pro-Russian party who has long called for a referendum on leaving NATO might have too much of a say in the vetting process, although he’s denied any direct involvement. The talks also come against the backdrop of another sticking point about who will represent the Czech Republic at the upcoming NATO summit in Turkey next July. Pavel and Babis are expected to meet on May 8 to try to resolve the issue.

Members of the three-party ruling coalition have clashed over the government’s national vaccination strategy, with a parliamentary committee debate this week highlighting the internal divisions. Adopted last minute by the previous government of Petr Fiala but nevertheless supported by current Health Minister Adam Vojtech – a member of the ruling ANO party who has already served as health minister during the Covid pandemic – and opposition parties, the strategy calls for greater vaccination coverage especially against the flu, but does not introduce any new mandatory shots for anyone. Czechia’s flu vaccination rate is one of the lowest in Europe at about 7 per cent, Vojtech insisted, compared to 70 per cent in Finland for instance, where he was previously posted as ambassador. Counting as members many influential members of the country’s anti-vaccination movement, the far-right junior coalition partner SPD – which also includes MPs from even more extremist movements – has been up in arms against a strategy containing measures, they claims, that “are not in the interest of public health, are a denial of human rights”. Meanwhile, opposition politicians have criticised the government for sending mixed messages to the public on the possibly life-saving topic of vaccination and for failing to find a compromise at the coalition level.