In reality, the Politico article is about strengthening economic and political unity in Central Europe, with Ukraine mentioned only in passing.
A story is circulating online claiming that Hungary’s newly elected prime minister, Peter Magyar, allegedly plans to “revive the Austro-Hungarian Empire” and occupy Transcarpathia. The posts cite a Politico article dated April 22nd.
In reality, the article with a somewhat provocative headline, Peter Magyar Wants to Put the Austro-Hungarian Empire Back on the Map, — deals primarily with strengthening economic and political unity in Central Europe and the occupation of Transcarpathia or any other territory is not considered as a potential course of action whatsoever. The article’s author, Nette Nöstlinger, writes that Hungary’s newly elected prime minister, Peter Magyar, who defeated Viktor Orbán in the elections earlier in April, has announced his intention to significantly deepen cooperation with neighboring countries — above all Austria — drawing on their shared imperial heritage and strong economic ties. Austria is the second-largest investor in the Hungarian economy after Germany, and more than 130,000 Hungarians work in Austria. Magyar plans to make his first foreign visit as prime minister to Warsaw and Vienna — a symbolic signal of a new foreign policy direction.
Magyar’s ambition is to form a powerful Central European bloc of center-right governments capable of speaking to Brussels from a position of greater strength. Among his immediate economic priorities are unlocking €18 billion in frozen EU funds, gaining access to €16 billion in European defense loans, and canceling the €1 million-per-day fine that Hungary pays for non-compliance with EU migration law. Yet it is already apparent that there are serious contradictions within the potential Central European bloc: Austria and Poland, for instance, are active supporters of additional EU assistance to Ukraine, while other members of the grouping have traditionally shown a greater willingness to maintain business ties with Moscow.Ukraine is mentioned in the Politico article only in passing as one of several potential sources of tension within the prospective bloc. Magyar stated that the issue of returning the blocked assets of Ukraine’s Oschadbank is something he is prepared to discuss with President Zelensky only after formally taking office. Needless to say, Peter Magyar made no statements about plans to seize Transcarpathia. The idea of “reviving the Austro-Hungarian Empire” serves in the text more as a rhetorical device to attract attention than as a literal description of the incoming Hungarian prime minister’s future policies. The Hungarian elections have served as a pretext for the spread of numerous disinformation narratives by Russia. We recently also debunked the claim that Ukrainians had allegedly been preparing a coup in Hungary if Orban won the election.
