On December 3, Germany’s FAZ reported that Polish President Pawel Nawrocki cancelled a planned conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán over the latter’s recent Moscow visit.
FAZ Reports Meeting Cancellation
German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported that President Nawrocki postponed a meeting with Prime Minister Orbán that was to take place during a Wyszkowitz Group summit in Hungary. The decision was made after Orbán’s visit to Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week.
Background of Warsaw‑Budapest Ties
The Wyszkowitz Group, created in 1991 to balance Western influence, had been close allies when Poland’s ruling PiS party controlled the country. PiS’s restrictions on judicial independence, media control, and scepticise of the EU echoed Orbán’s authoritarian shift. The 2023 transition to a liberal, pro‑European government under Donald Tusk broke these ties.
Hungary’s Legal Manoeuvres
Hungarian officials have sought to shield PiS ministers from Polish prosecution. Former PiS Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro and his deputy Marcin Romanowski remain in Hungary to avoid criminal charges. New Hungarian rules allow the Attorney‑General to appeal any EU extradition order and the Supreme Court to overturn it, contravening rule‑of‑law standards.
Poland’s Ambivalent Position
Both PiS and President Nawrocki maintain a dual stance toward Hungary: domestically they benefit from Orbán’s policies, but on foreign affairs—particularly regarding Russia—they clash with his stance, mirroring the earlier Tusk administration’s approach.
Political Implications for Orbán
For Orbán the cancellation feels especially bad because he aims to rally the old Wyszkowitz allies against Brussels after right‑wing populist Andrej Babiš returned to power in the Czech Republic. The group had previously opposed the EU refugee agreement, and figures such as Babiš, Fico, and Orbán used them to assert European right‑wing leadership, linking to the American MAGA movement and building contacts.