Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 08/10/2026Have you been puzzled, while reading the Commission’s Policy Review, about what can be done before April 2027 to safeguard the EU’s capacity to act and prepare it for challenges that may test its integrity well before the next enlargement takes place? THREAD 1/5 123
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 10/09/2026There are moments in life when it is worth pausing to reflect. I feel deeply honored to have been selected as an Obama Leader and to join the 2026–2027 Leaders Europe cohort of the ObamaFoundation. Thread 1/4 @obamafoundation.bsky.social @iep-berlin.de @gmfus.bsky.social @ceudeminst.bsky.social 270
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 26/08/2026🇮🇸🇪🇺🇮🇸🇪🇺 One of the most important democratic exercises of 2026 will take place this Saturday. It won’t be an election, but #Iceland’s referendum on resuming accession negotiations with the #EuropeanUnion. THREAD 1/8 iep-berlin.de/site/assets/... 141
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 22/07/2026🇨🇳🇹🇯 On Monday, I had the opportunity to discuss with @tvpworld.bsky.social's excellent Ashim Kumar the latest amendment to Hungary's Fundamental Law, the removal of President Sulyok, and former Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter #Szijjártó's appointment to #BYD's global management team. THREAD 1/8 142
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 11/06/20262/3 Looking beyond the headlines and lofty rhetoric, my paper examines the internal political logic of 🇭🇺 foreign policy through four policy areas where the most significant shifts are likely to occur: ▪️ Central European cooperation ▪️ Access to EU funds ▪️ Ukraine ▪️ The Western Balkans 130
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 05/06/2026In the GMF #ResiliencePodcastSeries, I had the pleasure of discussing with the great @veghzsuzsanna.bsky.social the tools that #illiberal governments have used—and continue to use—within the 🇪🇺 to shrink civic space and target civil society. Check out the conversation 👉 tinyurl.com/yay25rfh 174
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 20/04/20261/2 As a think tanker, it is a particular honor to be invited to deliver a Jean Monnet Lecture. I am especially grateful to @maastrichtu.bsky.social & to Ferenc Laczó for the invitation, and I very much look forward to the exchange with academic colleagues and students in Maastricht. @iep-berlin.de 170
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 14/04/2026🇭🇺🇪🇺What the shift in power in Hungary means for Europe The impact of the 🇭🇺 elections goes beyond the relationship between 🇭🇺 and its 🇪🇺 partners and has genuinely European dimensions. It opens a 12-month period to implement much-needed reforms in EU decision-making. 👉 iep-berlin.de/site/assets/... 185
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 12/04/2026🇭🇺🎉THREAD 1/3 The dismantling of state capture is already beginning today In his victory speech, Péter Magyar called for the resignation of – Tamás Sulyok, President of Hungary – the President of the Constitutional Court – the President of Hungary’s Supreme Court (the Curia) – the Prosecutor General 112737
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 12/04/2026🇭🇺🇭🇺🇭🇺🇭🇺🇭🇺🎉 THREAD 1/2 At 45% of the votes counted, the official projection of the National Election Office gives Tisza Party 135 seats in Parliament—a clear constitutional supermajority. THIS IS A LANDSLIDE! This is a democratic revolution against a corrupt and authoritarian regime. 25010
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 12/04/20262. If you see these figures catching up rapidly toward the end of the day, you can be very, very suspicious. 0146
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 12/04/2026🇭🇺🗳️ THREAD 1/2 5:00 pm: 74% turnout—more than 5.5 million Hungarian voters have already cast their ballots in today’s election. Turnout is lowest in Northeast Hungary, where the highest levels of irregularities related to vote buying and voter coercion can be expected. 12410
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 12/04/2026#CrossingRedLines ❗️THREAD 1/2 In his Facebook post, Balázs Orbán, the political director of Prime Minister Orbán, raises the specter of potential armed violence on the part of Tisza. I am not aware of when we lost all state functions, including the security apparatus, over the past couple of days,.. 1169
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 12/04/2026🇭🇺🗳️#HungarianElections THREAD 1/2 3:00 pm turnout: 66% Turnout is already close—four hours before polls close—to where it ended in 2018 and 2022. I have already written about the structural impact of high turnout, so here is a different aspect. 181
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 12/04/2026#HungaryElectionThread Record turnout in #Hungary; 37,98% until 11:00 am. Expect final turnaround in the range of 65-80%. (2022:69%) This benefits #Tisza also structuraly: extreme high turnout lowers the chances of the extreme-right party Our Homeland to clear the 5% threshold. 23212
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 11/04/2026THREAD 1/5 Der IEP #Wahlmonitor gehört zu den hilfreichsten Tools für deutschsprachige Journalist:innen, die über europäische Wahlen berichten. 122
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 05/04/2026THREAD 1/7 Hybrid warfare measures are becoming entrenched in the #Hungarian election campaign. In my latest piece on #Ballhausplatz, I analyse the apparent false-flag attempted terrorist attack against the Turkish Stream pipeline in Serbia... ballhausplatz.substack.com/p/hijacking-... 184
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 19/03/2026#Hungary’s April 2026 election may become one of the most consequential political contests in Europe this year - not only for Hungary, but for the EU and Ukraine. In my new @iep-berlin.de #Wahlmonitor paper, I outline five scenarios Europe should be prepared for. 🧵 12310
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 09/03/2026Don't forget to join us on 📆March 12, Thursday ⏰ 3:00 pm CET / 10:00 am EDT and discuss with Borjan Gjuzelov, Jelena Pejic Nikic, Anamarija Velinovska, Zoran Necev & yours truly how #RuleofLaw resilience resources and stress factors shape #EUEnlargement. 🔗 RSVP 👉 tinyurl.com/2yxcr597 132
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 07/03/2026📢New on Ballhausplatz 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇭🇺👇 The arrest of seven Ukrainian nationals in Hungary has sharply intensified the already fraught relationship between Budapest and Kyiv, with far-reaching potential consequences for the Hungarian election campaign. ballhausplatz.substack.com/p/seven-arre... 023
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 22/01/2026Some thoughts before today's informal EUCO. THREAD 1/3 Rather than remaining merely reactive, the EU should approach the Greenland crisis within NATO in a way that strengthens its own geopolitical posture, improves Arctic security, and ... 1145
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 21/01/2026I’m excited to share that from February 1 I’ll be joining the Institute für Europäische Politik @iep-berlin.de as its new Deputy Director. I’m very much looking forward to working with the fantastic IEP team and to engaging closely with partners in the Berlin bubble, across Europe, and beyond. 2101
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 20/01/20263. Regarding my recommendations, I argue for: • a strengthened enforcement approach by the European Commission against anti–civil society legislation, including the application of established judicial tests to trigger requests for interim measures; 100
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 12/01/20263/5 • future-proofing EU civil society support through diversification and the extension of the European Endowment for Democracy’s mandate to include grantmaking within the EU itself; 100
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 12/01/20262/5 • a strengthened enforcement approach by the European Commission against anti–civil society legislation, including the application of established judicial tests to trigger requests for interim measures; 100
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 12/01/2026It was a great pleasure to speak at the “Mapping the Illiberal Challenge” closing conference of @authlibeu.bsky.social at the CEU. Presenting the key arguments and recommendations of my upcoming policy paper, “How to Better Protect and Support Civil Society in the EU?”, I argued for: THREAD 1/5 162
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 08/01/2026THREAD I am pleased to share that I started my personal Substack "Ballhausplatz". Expect a regular dose of EU integration, geopolitics and Transatlantic affairs, ironclad commitment to liberal democracy mixed with provocatively value-agnostic Realpolitik, coming with a Central European flair. 110
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 15/12/20252/3 My take in nutshell is the following: "I doubt that the US goal is to promote the departure of one of these four nations from the bloc, but rather to push a gradual disintegration of European integration through diplomatic, political and perhaps even financial support." 100
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 02/12/2025A Geopolitical Note on the Margins of the Putin–Witkoff Meeting THREAD 1/14 131
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 28/11/2025THREAD 1/6 Obviously, much of this is speculation, but I think #Orbán’s trip to #Moscow today — and his talks with Vladimir #Putin — should be seen primarily through the lens of yesterday’s Orbán–Vučić meeting, not last week’s peace-negotiation rollercoaster. @politico.eu 123
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 20/11/2025By tomorrow, @rferl.org.web.brid.gy will cease its 🇭🇺 operations. After returning in 2020 amid Hungary’s deepening autocratization, it is now withdrawing again — another move by the Trump administration shoring up Orbán at a moment of rising domestic pressure, a clear sign of illiberal solidarity. 084
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 10/11/2025🇺🇸🇭🇺 The balance of the #Trump-#Orbán meeting is more nuanced than the hype around securing sanction exemptions for #Hungary’s oil imports from #Russia. Check out my piece written for @euobserver.com, summarized in the THREAD below. euobserver.com/eu-and-the-w... 278
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 24/10/2025I had the pleasure yesterday of discussing with @tvpworld.bsky.social the collapse of the Budapest “Peace Summit,” the latest EUCO developments, and Hungarian domestic politics, with a focus on the mobilization contest around the October 23 national holiday. 👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF9s... 052
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 15/10/2025It was a real honor and privilege to speak about anti-NGO laws in the European Union at Forum 2000, alongside great colleagues and with @kenlcg.bsky.social as our excellent moderator. THREAD 1/4 @gmfus.bsky.social @engagingce.bsky.social @authlibeu.bsky.social @ceudeminst.bsky.social 151
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 12/10/2025I had the pleasure to discuss the alleged case of Hungarian espionage against the European Commission with TVP World @tvpworld.bsky.social. Find the link and my main points in THREAD. 162
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 07/10/2025We had an extremely informative and in-depth election readout with Andrea Michalcová, @petraguasti.bsky.social & Vít Dostál about the domestic and EU & foreign policy implications of the 🇨🇿 elections. Key takeaway & video in THREAD @gmfus.bsky.social @authlibeu.bsky.social @engagingce.bsky.social 174
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 25/04/2025It was not only a great pleasure but also a lot of fun to discuss with @veghzsuzsanna.bsky.social and Dorjana Bojanovska Popovska how #illiberal #Transatlantic ties are reshaping Western democracy, and not for the better. 🎧 revdem.ceu.edu/2025/04/16/i... @revdem2020.bsky.social 3157
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 13/04/2025Brilliant piece by @mcfaulmike.bsky.social & Evan Medeiros explaining why a “Reverse Kissinger” strategy—trying to drive a wedge between China and Russia—is misguided and rooted in wishful thinking. Highly recommended reading 👇 www.foreignaffairs.com/china/china-... 1133
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 27/03/2025Amid growing U.S. assertiveness toward allies—especially in the #Arctic—and its waning commitment to European security, reconsidering the EU’s #NorthernEnlargement has become a strategic imperative. My piece for @euobserver.com @martakos.ec.europa.eu euobserver.com/eu-and-the-w... 062
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 26/03/2025I’m deeply honored to join @ceudeminst.bsky.social as a research affiliate and to work alongside such fantastic colleagues on the topics of shrinking space for civil society, the intersection of autocratization and foreign policy, and the politics of rule of law protection in the EU. 090
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 02/02/2025Sharp piece by @ivodaalder.bsky.social & James Lindsay on the flawed strategic calculus behind Trump's power fetish driven U.S. foreign policy turn. Very much worth reading www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state... 020
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 07/01/2025Actually, it’s beautiful to see this finally coming true. Source: www.gmfus.org/news/erosion... 020
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 07/01/2025What are the prospects of US-#Bulgarian bilateral relations after the elections in both countries? And what broader implications do they have for security in the #BlackSea region? THREAD 1/2 110
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 20/12/2024The granting of political asylum to former 🇵🇱 Justice Minister #Romanowski aligns seamlessly with the broader strategy of 🇭🇺's #Orbán regime, which has consistently provided asylum to illiberal political allies facing legal troubles or persecution in their home countries. THREAD 123
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 03/12/202411. Complicating matters further, Trump aligns himself ideologically with Europe’s illiberal leaders, such as Hungary’s Viktor #Orbán, and far-right parties like Germany’s #AfD. 100
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 03/12/2024While #Trump’s demands from #European allies may resonate deeply with #GOP stakeholders and the #Republican electorate, there has been little consideration of the fact that his articulated Europe policy may ultimately prove self-defeating. Here is why 👇 A LONG 🇺🇸🇪🇺THREAD 152
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 25/11/2024I was asked today whether Kaja #Kallas is the right person to lead EU Foreign & Security Policy in a period when consensus among EU Members on #Ukraine and #Russia is fading. Here are my thoughts 👇 THREAD 1/13 12512
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 11/11/2024As Viktor #Orbán put it during the press conference following the informal #EUCO in Budapest, "he still has some surprises up his sleeve." 👉Be prepared for further "peace visits" to #Moscow and for Orbán to mediate on behalf of #Trump before his inauguration on January 20. 031
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 25/06/2024For Polish speaking Friends My piece on why #Poland should host the next #SummitforDemocracy online & printed in today's Gazeta Wyborcza. 👉 wyborcza.pl/7,75968,3108... 020
Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 16/05/2024The recording of our great conversation about the #ForeignPolicy implications of #populist leadership with Erin Jenne Mehmet Yavuz & Dean Schafer is available below on the Youtube channel of @authlibeu.bsky.social . Check it out! ⬇️ 🔗https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJOffjdbyYo&ab_channel=AuthlibEU 011