Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán traveled to Rome to meet his Italian counterpart and key ally Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday, December 4th. The conservative leaders discussed combating illegal migration, reaching a “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine and the Middle East, and strengthening their diplomatic cooperation ahead of the incoming Trump presidency, under which they are set to become Washington’s primary partners in the European Union.
PM Meloni began the meeting by congratulating Orbán on Hungary’s successful six-month rotating presidency at the helm of the Council of the EU—especially given the way that several member states attempted to prevent Budapest from fulfilling its duties earlier this year. (After failing to do so, they teamed up with the entire European Commission in a “childish” (and arguably unlawful) boycott against it.).
Meloni highlighted the “Budapest Declaration on the New European Competitiveness Deal,” adopted by EU leaders on November 8th, as well as the Hungary-brokered breakthrough on Romania’s and Bulgaria’s long-awaited Schengen accession, scheduled for January 1st next year.
The two leaders discussed strengthening their countries’ bilateral relations, especially in trade and energy, and pledged to coordinate their diplomatic strategies for several crucial foreign policy issues, including the EU’s common migration policy, Ukraine, the Middle East, and the West Balkan countries’ EU accession.
Regarding migration, Meloni and Orbán agreed that the Union needs to focus on a deeper dialogue with the transit and origin countries to effectively combat human trafficking and save lives by preventing people from embarking on the dangerous trans-Mediterranean routes.
They also emphasized that Brussels needs to urgently update its legal frameworks to allow for more streamlined returns policies and to give a clear definition of “safe countries;” as well as to begin discussing the EU-wide implementation of Italy’s “Albania-protocol” by establishing third-country reception and deportation centers in line with the expectations of the majority of EU member states.
In the case of Ukraine, both leaders stressed their support for a “just and lasting peace” between Kyiv and Moscow, based on international law and the provisions of the UN Charter. They also pledged their efforts to the reconstruction of Ukraine ahead of next year’s ‘Ukraine Recovery Conference’ that will be hosted by Italy in June 2025.
The partnership between the two conservative governments will take center stage during the incoming Republican administration in the U.S. as well, as Orbán and Meloni are the only two leaders in Europe regarded as long-term allies of President Trump with direct lines of communication with the White House.
They are both expected to serve as diplomatic ‘bridges’ between Washington and Brussels. While Orbán arguably has a more personal connection with Trump, Meloni’s mediating role could be even bigger as Italy is not only one of the largest EU member states but now also has an Executive Vice President in the EU Commission. At the sam time, her European Conservative and Reformist (ECR) group has made great strides toward mainstream acceptance in Brussels and are no longer subject to the EU Parliament’s undemocratic cordon sanitaire against right-wing parties.
In any case, both leaders have much to look forward to in the years ahead. “Old friendship, new chapter, big plans,” PM Orbán wrote after the meeting.
