The European Union is made up of 27 sovereign member states and has several governing institutions. On 1st July 2024 Viktor Orbán’s government will hold the presidency of the Council of the European Union for six months. This diplomatic role may present its challenges because Hungary takes a divergent view from centrist colleagues in a few areas, two of them being climate policy and support for Ukraine.And in the past Hungary has used its veto to stall votes on policies that support Ukraine.After recent European elections hard right parties now have a greater presence in the European Parliament and they have different priorities from their more centrist counterparts.The question is how the far right, together with Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the EU, can alter the direction of European politics.Presented by Tanya Beckett
Produced by Louise Clarke
Researched by Matt Toulson
Mixed by Richard Hannaford
Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Tara McDermottContributors: Pawel Zerka, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations in ParisThu Nguyen, deputy director of the EU policy think tank the Jacques Delors Centre in BerlinDimitar Bechev, from the School of Global and Area Studies at the University of Oxford and Senior fellow at Carnegie EuropeMarta Mucznik, senior EU analyst for International Crisis GroupImage:
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Mihaly Orban.
Photo by Thierry Monasse/Getty Images