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Hungarian election winner Magyar vows to rebuild EU relationship after stunning defeat of Viktor Orbán - Europe live

Jakub Krupa and Flora Garamvolgyi at Péter Magyar’s press conference THE EUROPEAN UNION He wants to bring Hungary back to the main fold of EU politics after years of confrontation under Viktor Orbán (14:20, 14:34). He expects some disagreements with the bloc, but he would always seek a compromise. But he remains critical of the EU’s institutions, bureaucracy, and migration policy from conservative positions, and wants it to be a union of sovereign state rather than a federal body (16:11). He wants to go to Poland, Austria and Brussels as his first three foreign visits as prime minister. He is open to Hungary joining the eurozone and wants to consider setting a date for it (15:48). He would welcome the UK back in the EU (15:56). UKRAINE He does not support Ukraine’s fast-track accession to the EU and would put it to a referendum. He does not think this would happen in the next decade. He supports the December proposal on the EU’s €90bn loan, which features an opt-out for Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia (15:30). He wants to protect the rights of Hungarian minorities in Ukraine. He considers Ukraine the victim in the war with Russia. RUSSIA He wants to have pragmatic relations with Russia (15:47) as Hungary “cannot change geography” and existing ties on energy. He wants to diversify energy supplies to decrease the country’s dependence on any single source. He wants Russia to end its war against Ukraine, but does not expect Putin to listen to his advice. If the war ends, however, we wants to lift sanctions on Russia “immediately” (15:17, 15:39). But he thinks Russia is a security risk that Europe should be wary of (16:14). TRUMP ADMINISTRATION He wants to have good relations with the US and is open to engaging with Donald Trump despite the US administration’s involvement in the campaign – but pointedly said he wouldn’t call him first, just like with Putin (15:53). He says he does not want to fund further US conservative events in Hungary. RULE OF LAW He says his government will radically reform state institutions as the electorate voted “not just for change of government, but of regime,” but he pledged to stop short of restoring the rule of law through unlawful measures (16:55). He wants several high-profile officials to resign from public offices, including the country’s president Tamás Sulyok, a close Orbán ally (14:49, 14:52). He wants to introduce a retrospective two-term limit for prime ministers, which could effectively bar Viktor Orbán from every taking the post ever again (14:56). ECONOMY He says the country has been “devastated” and “looted” by the previous government and requires a fundamental reform (14:15). He wants to unblock €19bn frozen EU funds for Hungary as a priority (13:24). He refuses to contribute to the €90bn aid package to Ukraine as he says Hungary cannot afford to take any more loans and needs to resolve the issue of EU funds first (15:30). ABORTION He says the issue is settled and he does not intend to change the current consensus, which requires pregnant women to have to listen to the fetus’s heartbeat before they can access the procedure. Emergency contraception pills are not available without prescription in contrast with most EU countries (16:59). LGBT RIGHTS His says that “everyone can live with whoever they love as long as they do not violate laws of harm others.” What that means in practice, remains to be seen. He supports the right to assembly, which appeared to suggest his openness to future LGBT events in Hungary (16:59). MIGRATION He criticises the EU’s handling of the migration crisis and says EU aid should focus on countries of origin. He wants to pursue a restrictive migration policy domestically (16:11). PRESS FREEDOM He says he is committed to media transparency and holding regular press conferences, with a 3-hour media briefing today to show for it already on the first day after the election (16:01). He wants to suspend the current state TV and radio broadcaster, introducing new safeguards to ensure unbiased coverage (16:42). TRANSPARENCY AND CORRUPTION He wants to join the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and step up fight against corruption and cronyism in public institutions. He plans to review public spending and cut funds to institutions captured by the Orbán government (14:15).

Ideology and principles clash in Trump’s Iran war | Letters

Nesrine Malik is correct in highlighting the differences between the US and Iran in their understanding of conflict as a means to an end (Trump’s chaotic war on Iran has dragged into its sixth week because he is fighting an adversary he doesn’t understand, 6 April). However, she fails to outline the distinctly different ends that the two protagonists believe in. The US has since 1945 represented the west’s vision of wealth, influence and opportunity based on material ownership and thus power. Iran as a state since 1979 has built a regime based on a creed enmeshed in an ideology that is dogmatically enforced. The US especially, but also, to only a slightly lesser degree, the west, worships powerful figures and lavish riches. Iran and several non-state groups place single-minded adherence to cause and obedience as a power beyond the west’s comprehension. Therefore what we now have in the Middle East is an attempt by the US, egged on by Israel, attempting to exterminate an ideology through the destruction of people and materials. However, ideology can only be defeated when confronted with ideas and beliefs that have greater resonance and are based on sound ethics. If we believe in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as set out in 1948, we have to stop the US and Israel. Lt Col (retd) Rob Symonds Finstock, Oxfordshire • Nesrine Malik is right to say that Donald Trump does not understand Iran’s leaders, but I think she misses a key reason. Iran’s leaders act on religious and national principles. These are not nice, liberal principles. But they are principles. Trump does not understand them because he has no principles. Nothing for which he would sacrifice himself or even his money. This makes him blind to the motives of his adversaries. No wonder he’s wrecking the world economy. David Flint London • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.

The JD Vance effect on Hungarian voters | Brief letters

JD Vance should “go to the back of the queue”, if he thought endorsing Viktor Orbán would have a positive impact (Hungarian opposition ousts Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power, 12 April). This approach a decade ago rebounded on President Obama just before the Brexit referendum: too many British voters resented his message, even if he was soon proved right. David Nowell East Barnet, London • Having seen the result of the Hungarian election, perhaps we could invite JD Vance to interfere in our next general election by speaking in support of Nigel Farage. Clifton Melvin Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire • Here’s hoping the shine doesn’t come off Péter Magyar’s landslide victory in Hungary as quickly as it came off Keir Starmer’s in the UK. Caroline Westgate Hexham, Northumberland • Like Susan Treagus (Letters, 10 April), I selected from my wife’s possessions what I wanted to keep and eventually cleared the rest. A few days before the first wedding anniversary without her, an old wedding anniversary card she had written turned up. Now that’s one I’ll always keep and treasure. Jim Grindle Formby, Merseyside • So these astronauts on the Artemis II mission went to the moon (Report, 11 April)? In the same way that if I drove round the M25, I’d have gone to London? Simon Ratcliffe Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire • Having children may not make people happier (Am I a happier person for having a child? It’s the wrong question to ask, 12 April), but having grandchildren certainly does. Play the long game! Rosemary Chamberlin Bristol • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.

Middle East crisis live: Trump vows that ships approaching US blockade of Iran’s ports will be ‘eliminated’, after sparring with pope

Nato allies said on Monday they would not get involved in US president Donald Trump’s plan to blockade the strait of Hormuz, proposing instead to intervene only once fighting ends, in a move likely to anger Trump and increase strains in the alliance. This comes as the US president said the country’s military would work with other countries to block all maritime traffic in the waterway, after weekend talks failed to reach an agreement to end the six-week conflict with Iran. However, now leaders from countries who are part of Nato are saying they will not get involved. “We’re not supporting the blockade,” British prime minister Keir Starmer told the BBC. “My decision has been very clearly that whatever the pressure, and there’s been some considerable pressure, we’re not getting dragged into the war,” he said. Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, and Greece have all ruled out sending naval forces to support the blockade. However, France will organise a conference with Britain and other countries to create a multinational mission to restore navigation in the strait, French President Emmanuel Macron said on X on Monday. “This strictly defensive mission, distinct from the belligerents, will be deployed as soon as the situation allows,” Macron said.

Peru extends voting for president into Monday after chaos at polling stations

Peruvians will have to wait at least until the end of Monday to know the result of the presidential election held on Sunday, after the voting process descended into chaos in some polling stations due to a lack of ballot papers or defective computers. In an unprecedented move, Peru’s electoral agency ONPE announced on Sunday night that it would extend voting for an extra day to allow tens of thousands of Peruvians in the country and abroad, who had been unable to vote, to cast their ballots. Authorities said that 52,000 people would be allowed to vote on Monday after 15 polling stations in southern Lima had cancelled voting due to technical issues. Peru’s foreign ministry announced that several thousand voters living in the US cities of Paterson, New Jersey, and Orlando, Florida, would also be able to vote on Monday. The technical problems came amid unsubstantiated accusations of fraud and calls from candidates to extend voting into the night. Two former Lima mayors, an autocrat’s daughter and a comedian are contending to become Peru’s ninth president in a decade marked by intense political instability and corruption scandals. Exit polls, partial results, and independent tallies so far show that the four-time presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori is in the lead, though she is well short of the 50% needed to win outright, and it is still unclear who she will face in the second round. Voting is mandatory for Peruvians aged 18 to 70. Failure to vote carries a fine of up to $32. While 15 polling stations were shuttered on Sunday several others faced delays and voting began late. At a polling station in Lima’s Miraflores district on Sunday, frustrated voters chanted: “We want to vote!” One of them, Rosa María Yaksetig, said that voting had not begun until about 11.30am, adding: “The printers had run out of ink, and there was a fair amount of disorganisation, so people began to protest.” ONPE said that no official first‑round result would be available until after the additional voting had concluded on Monday.

‘We are totally out of our depth’: experts say whale stranded in Baltic is beyond saving

When a 10-metre long humpback whale became stranded on a sandbar in the Baltic Sea last month, none of those who went to its rescue could have known how it might turn lives and livelihoods upside down. About a month after the first sighting of the male whale, near Wismar and Timmendorfer Strand on the north German coast, it has repeatedly stranded and freed itself and is now stranded once more, with rescuers saying it is in the throes of death. The drama has captivated the country, making politicians cry and drawing shamans from distant parts. Experts brought in first to help save the whale, and then to ease the animal’s demise, have faced death threats. Those accusing politicians and environmentalists of worsening the whale’s plight, even animal cruelty, have said it is an argument for bringing the far right into power. The local mayor has admitted: “We have all been totally out of our depth.” One leading humpback whale expert has even stopped allowing her name to be quoted in the media, because, she has said, “it has become dangerous to talk about humpback whales in Germany”. Now the whale is lying in the Kirchsee, a small bay on the island of Poel, and the local fire brigade is in constant deployment, spraying it with sea water in an attempt to comfort it in its final days. In a cover story entitled “A Whale Dies, A Country Watches – and Hatred Springs out of Nowhere”, the news magazine Spiegel compared the spectacle to a “failed theatre production”, starring “offended animal rights protectors, angry police, helpless authorities and a whale which doesn’t follow stage instructions”. Attempts to save the whale were declared at an end at an emotional press conference held by the environment minister of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Till Backhaus, rescue workers and scientists from the maritime museum in nearby Stralsund almost two weeks ago. The whale, it was said by the experts, was beyond saving. The participants pleaded with the public to leave the animal in peace to die. A key reason for its fast decline was thought to be a fishing net that had got caught in its jaw, weakening it, and leading it to lose its sense of direction. The whale should never have been in the Baltic Sea, which has far too little salt, and is not deep enough for it to survive. It is thought it might have been lured in by shoals of herring. Wounds have been detected on its back, in addition to another infection on its skin. “The patient is very sick,” Backhaus said. It has been nicknamed Timmy by some locals, although experts refuse to use the moniker, saying attempts to anthropomorphise the whale are part of the problem at the heart of the operation. Nature should be allowed to take its course, they say. But the closing press conference turned out to be anything but. Backhaus, who did not hold back his emotions, calling the operation one of the most demanding of his 27 years in office, said recommendations from the public as to how the whale might yet be saved had been taken into account – including putting a sheet underneath the animal and lifting it up via helicopter, or his own short-lived idea, to hire a giant catamaran from Denmark to fetch it – but were not deemed workable. Still they have kept coming. People describing themselves as everything from well-wishers to environmental campaigners have taken to the water to get close to the animal and look to find ways of persuading it back into deep waters. It has become the focus of Instagram stories and liveblogs across German media. At the weekend, a woman in her late 50s from Bavaria was fished out by visibly angry water police having got within 3 metres of the whale. Cranes, planes, inflatable pontoons and whale song are among the suggestions which have been put forward. An inventor from Austria has even suggested building a swimming pool around the whale. A self-confessed whale ambassador has composed a song of ritual healing called HeJaWa, claiming it would give energy to the whale and help to free it. A German millionaire has said he is prepared to put up as much money as is needed, arguing that “if it’s possible to fly to the moon, it must be possible to save a whale”. Latest suggestions have included administering a lethal injection, but this would have to be inserted directly into the heart and this is thought to be extremely difficult if not impossible to carry out. Attaching explosive devices to the whale’s head, methods apparently experimented on in Australia, and considered an option by the International Whaling Commission in emergency situations, have also been proposed. But German authorities have reportedly long since ruled this out as an option, not least due to the risks it would not work, as well as the risks to local infrastructure. Backhaus has said authorities will accompany the whale “to the last”. He had hoped, he said, for an Easter miracle for the whale, which occasionally spurts fountains of water and emits what are interpreted as a plaintive cries, “but a resurrection is not in sight”.

French cement maker convicted of financing terror groups to keep its Syria plant working

A French court has fined the cement group Lafarge more than €1m (£870,000) and sentenced its former boss to six years in prison for paying protection money to Islamic State and other terror groups to maintain its business in war-torn Syria from 2013 to 2014. The ruling follows a 2022 case in the United States in which the French firm pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to US-designated “terrorist” organisations and agreed to pay a $778m fine (£580m) – the first time a company had faced the charge. The Paris court found that Lafarge, which is now part of the Swiss conglomerate Holcim, paid nearly €5.6m via its subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria (LCS) to terror groups and intermediaries to keep its plant operating in northern Syria. The company’s former chief executive, Bruno Lafont, was sentenced to six years in prison for financing terrorism, which a judge ordered him to start serving immediately. Lafont’s lawyer said he would appeal. The presiding judge, Isabelle Prevost-Desprez, said: “This method of financing terrorist organisations, and primarily IS, was essential in enabling the terrorist organisation to gain control of Syria’s natural resources, allowing it to finance terrorist acts within the region and those planned abroad, particularly in Europe.” Lafarge established a “genuine commercial partnership with IS”, she said, which added to the “extreme gravity of the offences”. Lafarge had finished building a $680m factory in Jalabiya in 2010, just before Syria’s civil war erupted in March the following year amid opposition to the brutal repression of anti-government protests by the then president, Bashar al-Assad. IS seized large swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014, implementing a brutal control of local areas. While other multinational companies left Syria in 2012, Lafarge evacuated only its expatriate employees and left its Syrian staff in place until September 2014, when IS seized control of the factory. In 2013 and 2014, LCS paid intermediaries to access raw materials from the Islamic State organisation and other groups and to allow free movement for the company’s trucks and employees. It paid groups including Islamic State and Syria’s then al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra. Sherpa and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, who filed a complaint in the case alongside former Syrian employees of Lafarge, said the ruling marked “a major turning point in the fight for corporate accountability”. But they said the Syrian employees were still waiting for compensation. Former Syrian Lafarge employees had told the court how their daily lives were marked by fear of dismissal, bombings, kidnappings, crossing areas under sniper fire, having to pass through checkpoints and the constant risk of reprisals from armed groups. Former employees said in a statement after the verdict: “Lafarge was aware of what was happening to us – the checkpoints, the threats, the daily fear – but chose to risk the lives of its employees for profit.” The former employees said they would continue to ask for compensation. Holcim, which took over Lafarge in 2015, has said it had no knowledge of the Syria dealings. The French national counter-terrorism prosecutor’s office had said in closing statements that Lafarge was guilty of financing “terrorist” organisations with “a single aim: profit”. Lafarge is also under investigation in France for alleged complicity in crimes against humanity. Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

What does Péter Magyar’s win in Hungary mean for the EU and Ukraine?

Péter Magyar’s resounding election victory brings an end to 16 years of rightwing populist rule under Viktor Orbán. But the effects of that win are likely to be felt well beyond Hungary’s borders, from Brussels to Moscow and from Kyiv to Washington. What does the win mean for the EU? Orbán’s frequent efforts to undermine the EU’s attempts at collective action – not to mention his proud defence of the “illiberal democracy” that Hungary became on his watch – exasperated and infuriated the European Commission. His vetoing of a massive EU loan to Ukraine and his strategy of delaying, and sometimes opposing, EU sanctions on Russia, left the bloc looking toothless and divided. Meanwhile, his contempt for democratic norms, failure to tackle corruption, disdain for the rule of law and his crackdowns on the media led the commission to suspend billions of euros in funding to Hungary. Magyar, on the other hand, has promised to repair Hungary’s strained relationship with the bloc and to address many of its concerns. In a speech on Monday morning, he pledged to work for “a free, European, well-functioning and compassionate Hungary”. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, made plain her relief at the election result – and her hopes for rebooted relations with Hungary – in a post on X. “Hungary has chosen Europe,” she wrote. “Europe has always chosen Hungary. Together, we are stronger. A country returns to its European path. The Union grows stronger.” And what about Russia and Ukraine? Magyar’s predecessor made no secret of his proximity to Moscow. Not only did Orbán continue buying Russian oil and gas – and meeting Vladimir Putin after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – he also blocked a vital €90bn (£78bn) EU loan to Ukraine for urgently needed military aid and government support. Recent media reports have also suggested that Budapest shared confidential EU information with the Kremlin, prompting further fury from the EU. For the time being, Magyar’s lines on Ukraine look similar to some of Orbán’s: the new prime minister has said he will push on with Hungary’s opposition to sending arms to the country and to fast-tracking EU entry for Kyiv. But the new government could well choose to show a more conciliatory direction by dropping its opposition to the €90bn EU loan; given his stated aim of repairing relations, it seems unlikely Magyar will wield vetos as freely as his predecessor. The Kremlin has said it hopes to “continue pragmatic contacts with the new leadership”, while Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said his country was “ready for meetings and joint constructive work for the benefit of both nations, as well as peace, security and stability in Europe”. What effect will Orbán’s defeat have on rightwing and far-right parties in Europe? The outgoing prime minister’s loud and aggressive defence of traditional Christian family values made him a hugely popular and potent figurehead for his rightwing and far-right contemporaries. While his critics saw him as illiberal, intolerant and profoundly undemocratic, his admirers delighted in his scorn for many of the values held dear across the majority of EU countries. Orbán’s departure has left them mourning a much-cherished totem. The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said Orbán had “defended Hungary’s freedom and sovereignty with courage and determination”, while Italy’s pragmatic prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, congratulated Magyar but also thanked Orbán for “intense collaboration for these years”. Santiago Abascal, the leader of Spain’s far-right Vox party, was less measured. “Hungary was the only European nation that was safe from the Islamist invasion,” he wrote on X on Sunday night. “The defeat of Victor Orbán puts that in danger. Orbán leaves a Hungary that is much better than the one he inherited. And he leaves a deep mark on all the patriotic forces of Europe.” And where does it leave Trump and the US? Orbán’s defeat will also come as a blow to Donald Trump, his administration and the Maga movement. As Trump’s former adviser Steve Bannon once noted, Orbán was “Trump before Trump” – a beguiling, one-man blueprint for illiberal, bulldozer politics. The US president had repeatedly endorsed Orbán and promised, three days ago, to bring US “economic might” to the country if Orbán was re-elected. Orbán’s political and ideological importance to Trump was further underlined by last week’s visit by the US vice-president, JD Vance. “We had to show that there are actually lots of friends across the world who recognise that Viktor and his government are doing a good job and they’re important partners for peace,” Vance said as he attempted to brush off accusations of US electoral interference. The scale of Magyar’s victory has already prompted some on the European right to ponder whether a Trump endorsement could actually be the kiss of death. Belgium’s defence minister, Theo Francken, described Vance’s support as “a really dumb campaign move”, adding: “I’m a rightwing politician and think the far right is being really stupid. And that the Magas should really stop campaigning internationally because everyone and everything they support loses the elections. Lead instead of gold. Best advertisement for the left. Crazy.”