TN.cz | Rift between Hungary and Poland. Reason being Orbán's relationship with Putin

A diplomatic rift has erupted between Budapest and Warsaw over the different attitudes of the two countries towards Russia. First, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán branded Poland as the country with the most hypocritical policy in Europe, while the Poles hit back by pointing out the close relations Orbán maintains with Russian President Putin. The media are also talking about the possible end of the V4 group. EUROPEUM Institute researcher Vít Havelka spoke more about the dispute in an interview with TN.cz.

What we have been discussing for the last two and a half years is how to prevent free access of Russian agents to European soil, to the shared soil of the Schengen area. And what Hungary is doing is, let's say, a check on these efforts, or almost a provocation, but one that has major implications for the effectiveness of screening Russian citizens travelling to the European Union.

You can watch the full interview here.

Vít Havelka
Senior Research Fellow

Expertise: EU institutional relations with member states, europeisation, transformation role of EU