"Politico" chose the Hungarian Prime Minister as the fourth most influential in the “Doers” category on its annual ranking of the most powerful people in Europe. Viktor Orbán is followed by French President Emmanuel Macron, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. ​

We have defended Hungary's interests – the prime minister Viktor Orbán said in Brussels, pointing out that EU heads of state and government agreed on a new budget.  ​

This is the official, English transcript of Prime Minister Orbán's response to EPP group leader Manfred Weber, who  stated in an online press conference on December 3 that the "rule of law mechanism", is not being set up expressly against Hungary and Poland. ​

Letter of Tamás Deutsch to Members of the EPP Group ​ Budapest, 4 December 2020 Honourable Colleagues,

Hungary insists that the economic issue of the EU budget and the recovery fund must be separated from the rule of law regulation that has led to political debates – said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Kossuth Radio. ​

It was up to the EU’s German presidency to find a solution to the impasse – said Justice Minister Judit Varga, the first Hungarian to receive the institute’s Custos Virtutum award, during online debate – hosted by the Wacław Felczak Polish-Hungarian Cooperation Institute – on linking rule of law conditions to the payment of EU funds.

The government in Budapest has ordered local councils not to increase local and municipal taxes next year. Further, according to the finance ministry local councils must not introduce any new tax. ​

An ideologically based justification for penalties flies in the face of European values and treaties – says Judit Varga, the Hungarian Justice Minister and laureate of the Guardian of Virtues award, in an interview with "Do Rzeczy" weekly ​

“This is extremely dangerous for Europe’s cohesion, it is a bad solution that threatens a breakup of Europe in the future,” Morawiecki told a news conference. With the veto “we are defending the unity of the union" – he added. ​

 Joint Declaration of the Prime Minister of Poland and the Prime Minister of Hungary

Here is a article by Viktor Orbán blocked by the Project Syndicate ( the Prime Minister's article has appeared on the Prime Minister's website instead of on an international platform). ​ Reply to the article by George Soros

"European Commission’s bureaucrats confirmed in writing. There is no definition of the rule of law in the European Union’s documents.