European Parliament in Nutshell: May 2026
Every month, the European Parliament plenary session takes place in Strasbourg. And every month, IR Media follows it closely. These are the highlights of the last plenary session taking place from 18th to 21st April 2026: Risky foreign investments in EU A strong European Union is the last thing many powerful countries want. Because it’s a competition for them. So some of them are trying to weaken it. Most of the time this happens in a friendly way. For example these countries invest in European sensitive sectors like defence, artificial intelligence, financial services or critical raw materials. Through these investments they not only make Europe dependent on themselves, but they also gain access to sensitive information they could potentially missuse… So this Tuesday, the European Parliament decided that the foreign investments in those sensitive sectors will be screened. And presented the rules for how it will be done. The goal was not to make these rules too complex, so it wouldn’t discourage foreign investors. The EU still wants foreign investors, but given the currrent geopolitical tensions, it wants to have a better overview of them. Deterioration of democracy in Slovakia On Wednesday Eurodeputies adopted a resolution in which they express concern over how the current Slovak government is systematically weakening democracy. For example by reforming criminal law so there would be less strict rules on corruption. Or by changing the constitution, so that it wouldn’t have to respect the European law, and restored the so-called “traditional values”. Which, in the Slovak understanding, means things like not recognizing the existence of trans people or conditioning sex education by parental consent. Slovak government also maintains warm relations with Russia, and is trying more and more to silence public service media and restrict women’s rights. They are also not transparent with how they are using EU funds. A suspicion exists that they are even abusing them to build luxury private properties. Parliament therefore called on the European Commission to look into Slovakia and determine whether it is embezzling European money. European Order of Merit During this plenary session, the European Order of Merit was awarded. The European Order of Merit was invented in 2025 to appreciate individuals who have exceptionally contributed to European unity, democracy, and values. This year, 20 people received the Order. Among them were, for example: The next sitting will be held from 15th to 18th June 2026 in Strasbourg
Hungary Blocking Aid for Ukraine : Story of the Last Week
Even after the European Council summit, last week Hungary is still blocking the 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine. How is this even possible? And why is Hungary doing it? What was the loan about? In February 2026, the European Parliament approved a 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine to help it resist Russia’s invasion. The loan was agreed under so-called enhanced cooperation procedure – mechanism that allows something to be implemented within the EU even if not all 27 member countries agree on it. All financial responsibility for it then goes only to the countries that wanted it – not to the EU as a whole. In this case, 24 EU member states supported the loan for Ukraine, except the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. Ukraine was supposed to repay the loan after it received war reparations from Russia. Wait, how come Hungary is blocking the loan, when it doesn’t have to participate in it, you may wonder… How can Hungary block the loan if it’s not obliged to pay? The problem is the loan was meant to come from the EU’s joint budget. And when it comes to paying something from the EU joint budget, all member states must agree on it – even those that won’t contribute financially. If they don’t agree, they can use veto, that blocks everything. Which is exactly what Hungary, and its prime minister Victor Orbán, is doing right now. Why is Orbán doing it? Victor Orbán claims Hungary is blocking the loan because Ukraine stopped oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline, which supplies Hungary with Russian oil and runs through the territory of Ukraine. In January (2026), this pipeline was damaged by a Russian attack. But instead of directing his anger at the perpetrator, Orbán is taking it out on Ukraine: accusing it of deliberately delaying repairs of the pipeline to energetically harm his country. Slovakia joined Hungary with the same arguments. For some reason, both countries chose to stay dependent on Russian oil even after the 2009 gas crisis showed them it wasn’t the best idea… As for the Czech Republic, although it did not support the loan, at least it is not blocking its sending now. Why is Orbán REALLY doing it? In reality, not even Orbán himself believes that Ukraine is actually to blame for Russia destroying its own oil pipeline… But he’s well aware that if he pretends to believe so and blocks the loan on that basis, he can force the EU into making some concessions towards Hungary. Like for example unfreezing Hungarian funds that have been frozen in 2024 due his violations of rule-of-law in Hungary. In addition, Orbán has long held anti-European stance and, conversely, a warm attitude towards Russia. Specifically, since 2010, when he became prime minister after his Fidesz party won the elections. Since then, he has been gradually undermining democracy in the country by limiting media freedom, and judicial independence, and fighting against NGOs. Like every populist, Orbán sees the European Union as something restrictive to his ambitions, while Russia, where a powerful leader does whatever he wants and no one interferes, as an inspiration. This position naturally translates into animosity towards Ukraine (since Ukraine is Russia’s number one enemy) and has already manifested itself in several conflicts. For example, in 2017, when Ukraine passed a law making Ukrainian the required language of study in state schools to fight against growing Russian influence in some of its regions. Orbán framed this as an attack on the Hungarian minority living in Ukraine. He continuously opposed the integration of Ukraine to NATO. And after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he refused to sanction Russia, spreading Russian narratives and portraying the attacked country as the aggressor. Current political context: upcoming elections The veto on aid for Ukraine is happening in the light of upcoming Hungary’s parliamentary elections in April 2026. To some extent it is also Orban’s strategy to activate his voters. Because this time Orbán is facing his toughest opponent yet: Péter Magyar and his Tizsa party, conservative, pro-European party, currently leading in the election polls. Last Sunday, Budapest saw two massive rallies: one organized by Orbán’s Fidesz party under the name of “Peace march” with a strong anti-European and anti-Ukrainian sentiment, and another by the Magyar’s Tizsa party demanding democracy and support for Ukraine. Why should we care? Because Orbán’s blockade doesn’t concern only Ukraine. Its aim is to weaken the EU. As the famous saying goes: where two are fighting, the third wins. The third being Russia, which is constantly trying to convince European countries to abandon bigger structures like European Union because isolated they would be an easier target for Russia. Because Russia’s aggression won’t stop at Ukraine. If Putin sees that the West is divided, he may target other countries. Not to mention that this will inspire other countries with expansive tendencies to do the same – which is already happening… Because, it’s all immoral: imagine how you would feel if someone broke into your home, and set it on fire, only for your neighbor to call the police on you for not putting out the flames fast enough. (Also, it would turn out that the neighbor is friends with the person who set your home on fire…) Sources: