Guest lecture by László Andor - The Hungarian detour: European ambition and the limits to intra-EU diversity

We are very happy to share an upcoming guest lecture co-sponsored by our very own . All are welcome to attend; no pre-registration is required. Keep reading for an abstract and details about the event.

Hungary has had a difficult relationship with the EU, moving from an enthusiastic top-candidate after the establishment of liberal democracy to a Eurosceptic maverick under Viktor Orbán's governments since 2010. Political economy and polarisation have been key issues here. How did the transformation take place in Hungary? How can the EU address this diversity and the limits of integration? Join us on 11 September at 16-18 in the Karolina Eskelin room (U3032) of the University of Helsinki Main Building for a keynote from László Andor with comments from Emilia Palonen; Heikki Patomäki will chair this event. 

The Hungarian detour: European ambition and the limits to intra-EU diversity

László Andor, former Hungarian EU Commissioner (Barroso II) and the (FEPS). 

In the past decade and a half, Hungary has been an outlier within the EU in more and more fields. The state of democracy and rule of law has been under scrutiny, which aggravated disputes over budgetary questions as well. Finally, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been a maverick on European policy towards Russia and Ukraine. This detour since 2010 appears to be in sharp contrast with the earlier profile of Hungary as a champion of democratic transition and economic reforms. The lecture offers insights into the historic origins of divergent policies and pathways, but also some reflections about intra-EU diversity, which sets limits to deep integration and to some extent to the overall European ambition as well.

The talk is co-organised by the and  project, which has also been studying the social contract in Hungary. The discussant is Associate Professor Emilia Palonen, PI of the CO3 project. Palonen's book exploring Hungarian democratisation, political polarisation, as well as the failure of the left before Fidesz's takeover since 2010,  has been newly published in open access by the Helsinki University Press in 2025.

This event is co-funded by the European Commission. Any views presented here are the views of the speakers and do not represent the views of the European Commission.