Monday briefing: How Budapest Pride became a huge show of anti-Orbán defiance

In today’s newsletter: Hungary has relentlessly cracked down on LGBTQ+ rights – but banning Pride proved a step too far, as European politicians joined its biggest ever crowd

Good morning. In 1997, Budapest became the first capital in central and eastern Europe to hold a Pride parade. Three decades later, the march is firmly established as Hungary’s biggest LGBTQ+ event, and, in the words of one opposition MP, “a vital expression of joy, resistance and visibility”.

On Saturday, Budapest Pride took on the illiberal ambitions of Viktor Orbán and, rainbow flags flying high under a cloudless blue sky, as many as 200,000 marchers from 30 countries – the biggest turnout ever – were there to say it won. At least, for the time being.

Welfare |Vicky Foxcroft, the Labour whip who resigned in protest against disability benefit cuts, has said Keir Starmer’s concessions do not yet go far enough to win her over, as No 10 launched a fresh attempt to stem the revolt against its welfare bill.

NHS | Britain’s health service is estimated to be spending £50m a year on the effects of poverty and deprivation. One senior NHS figure said there were “medieval” levels of illnesses among poorer communities

Glastonbury | The organisers of Glastonbury have said they are “appalled” by comments made by Bob Vylan after the punk duo appeared to incite violence, something the festival said went against its ethos of “hope, unity, peace and love”.

Environment | Wildlife activists who exposed horrific conditions at Scottish salmon farms were subjected to surveillance by private spies-for-hire, including being followed and photographed, the Guardian can reveal.

Weather | Today’s temperature in the UK is expected to rise to 34C, just short of the record for the hottest ever June day, 35.6C, recorded in Southampton in 1976.

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Budapest Pride expected to be a rallying cry against Orbán’s rollback of rights

Record numbers expected at march despite Hungary’s leader saying those attending will face ‘legal consequences’

Record numbers of people are expected to take part in Budapest Pride on Saturday, with Hungarians joining forces with campaigners and politicians from across Europe in a march that has become a potent symbol of pushback against the Hungarian government’s steady rollback of rights.

“This weekend, all eyes are on Budapest,” Hadja Lahbib, the European commissioner for equality, told reporters in the Hungarian capital on Friday. “This is bigger than one Pride celebration, one Pride march. It is about the right to be who you are, to love who you want, whether it is in Budapest, in Brussels or anywhere else.”

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Dozens of MEPs to attend Budapest Pride in defiance of Viktor Orbán

As many as 70 said to be planning to show solidarity at LGBTQ+ march after Hungary’s PM tried to ban it

Dozens of MEPs are expected to attend the Pride march in Budapest this month, in defiance of the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, who has tried to ban the event.

In a debate in the European parliament in Strasbourg, MEPs from liberal, left and green groups pledged to be in Budapest on 28 June for the parade to show solidarity with gay Hungarians.

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Hungary postpones vote on law to curb foreign-funded organisations

Orbán’s ruling party delays vote on legislation allowing government to ban organisations with foreign funding

Hungary’s ruling party has postponed a planned vote on draft legislation aimed at organisations that receive foreign funding, following weeks of protests and warnings that the law would “starve and strangle” civil society and independent media.

Viktor Orbán’s rightwing populist party, Fidesz, put forward legislation last month that would allow the government to monitor, penalise and potentially ban organisations that receive any sort of foreign funding, including donations or EU grants.

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Orbán’s stance on Ukraine pushes Hungary to brink in EU relations

Member states are considering removing the country’s voting rights after its attempts to stymie support for Kyiv

The posters are going up all over Hungary. “Let’s not allow them to decide for us,” runs the slogan alongside three classic villains of Hungarian government propaganda.

They are: Ukraine’s wartime leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy; the European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen; and Manfred Weber, the German politician who leads the centre-right European People’s party in the European parliament, which counts Hungary’s most potent opposition politician among its ranks.

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US removes sanctions from Antal Rogán, aide to Hungary’s Viktor Orbán

US secretary of state Marco Rubio also spoke with foreign minister about strengthening countries’ ties

The United States has removed sanctions on a close aide of the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, the state department said, adding that the punitive measures had been “inconsistent with US foreign policy interests”.

Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, spoke on Tuesday with his Hungarian counterpart, the foreign minister Péter Szijjártó, and informed him of the move, state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

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Hungary to pull out of ‘political’ ICC as Netanyahu visits Budapest

Israeli PM, who is wanted by the court, hails Viktor Orbán’s ‘bold and principled’ decision to leave the ‘corrupt’ body

Hungary will leave the international criminal court because it has become “political”, the country’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said as he welcomed his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanhayu – the subject of an ICC arrest warrant – to Budapest for an official visit.

Standing beside Netanyahu at the start of the four-day visit, Orbàn said Hungary was convinced the “otherwise very important court” had “diminished into a political forum”.

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‘This will backfire’: Le Pen allies hit out at Paris court’s 2027 election ban verdict

Elon Musk attacks decision along with other figures from the right including Viktor Orbán and Geert Wilders

Nationalist and populist figures around the world, from Elon Musk to Viktor Orbán, have united in condemnation of a Paris court verdict barring Marine Le Pen from running in the country’s 2027 presidential elections.

In a bombshell ruling many believe could boost support for the party, the figurehead of France’s far-right National Rally (RN) was sentenced on Monday to four years’ imprisonment – half suspended – and banned from running for public office for five years, for embezzlement of European parliament funds.

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Hungary bans Pride events and plans to use facial recognition to target attenders

Amnesty International describes legislation as ‘full-frontal attack’ on country’s LGBTQ+ community

MPs in Hungary have voted to ban Pride events and allow authorities to use facial recognition software to identify attenders and potentially fine them, in what Amnesty International has described as a “full-frontal attack” on the LGBTQ+ community.

The legislation – the latest by the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, and his rightwing populist party to target the community – was pushed through parliament on Tuesday. Believed to be the first of its kind in the EU’s recent history, the nationwide ban passed by 136 votes to 27 after it was submitted to parliament one day earlier.

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Hungary’s government submits bill to ban Budapest Pride event

Ruling coalition continues its crackdown on LGBTQ+ people under its ‘child protection’ legislation

Hungary’s ruling coalition is continuing its crackdown on the country’s LGBTQ+ community, as members submitted a bill to parliament that would ban the popular Budapest Pride event and allow authorities to use facial recognition software to identify people attending.

The bill, presented on Monday, is almost certain to pass as the coalition has a two-thirds majority in parliament.

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Trump’s polarising appeal leaves European populists in a tight spot

Nationalist parties have tended to praise the US president’s politics, but many voters dislike his treatment of Ukraine

Europe’s rightwing populist parties are split over how far to distance themselves from Donald Trump’s pressure on Ukraine, with some fearing unflinching solidarity with the US president’s brand of nationalism will damage their efforts to widen their domestic support.

Broadly, unease over Trump’s treatment of Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the ominous encroach of authoritarianism by the new US administration, is strongest among the populist parties in western Europe and some Nordic countries.

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‘Watershed moment’: EU leaders agree plan for huge rise in defence spending

Leaders endorse von der Leyen proposal but show of unity over Ukraine is marred by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán

European leaders holding emergency talks in Brussels have agreed on a massive increase to defence spending, amid a drive to shore up support for Ukraine after Donald Trump halted US military aid and intelligence sharing.

But the show of unity was marred by Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, failing to endorse an EU statement on Ukraine pushing back against Trump’s Russia-friendly negotiating stance.

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Austria is set for a far-right chancellor. For the EU it’s the ‘new normal’

If Herbert Kickl becomes chancellor, Vienna will join list of disruptive member states, putting EU policies in peril

When Austria’s Freedom party (FPÖ) entered government 25 years ago, shock waves reverberated around Europe. Punitive measures were imposed, diplomatic visits cancelled and Belgium even suggested the EU could do without the Alpine country.

That was when the far-right party was only a junior coalition partner. This time, the FPÖ – nativist, anti-immigration and fiercely critical of the EU – is in the driving seat. Its leader, Herbert Kickl, is in pole position to be Austria’s next chancellor.

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Trump ‘beauty parade’ may favour populist right leaders over Starmer

Diplomats have advised the UK prime minister to have a face-saving response just in case he comes low down on the list at the inauguration

Donald Trump may invite ­populist rightwing leaders from Europe such as Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán to the White House before Keir Starmer, senior UK ­diplomats believe.

Downing Street and the Foreign Office are eagerly pressing for the prime minister to be at the head of the traditional “beauty parade” of overseas leaders who are called to see the new president in the days after the inauguration on 20 January. Representations are being made via the UK embassy in Washington.

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US imposes sanctions on senior Hungarian government minister

US treasury accuses Antal Rogán, a close aide of leader Viktor Orbán, as key to ‘system of corruption’

The United States has imposed sanctions on a senior member of the Hungarian government for alleged corruption, in a move which Budapest said it would challenge as soon as Donald Trump takes office.

The US treasury accused Antal Rogán, a close aide of the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, of using his role to secure financial benefits for himself and his political allies.

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Hungary invites Netanyahu to visit as world leaders split over ICC arrest warrant

Viktor Orbán says he will not enforce ICC decision that requires court members to detain Israeli PM if he enters their country

Hungary’s illiberal prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has said he will invite his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, to visit in defiance of an international criminal court arrest warrant, as world leaders split over the ICC’s momentous decision.

The world’s highest criminal court issued warrants on Thursday for Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant and the Hamas commander Ibrahim al-Masri, commonly known as Mohammed Deif, who is believed to be dead, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

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Leaders urge stronger action to defend Europe after Trump’s re-election

EPC talks in Budapest hear calls for unity on continent as former US president’s return to White House brings uncertainty

European leaders have called for stronger action to defend their continent and support Ukraine, in a show of unity after Donald Trump won re-election to the White House for a second term that is likely to prove a major challenge for the bloc.

Meeting in Budapest for two days of talks hosted by Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, an outspoken Trump ally, the EU’s 27 heads of state and government were joined on Thursday by 20 other leaders from the wider European Political Community including Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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Orbán, Zelenskyy, Macron and European leaders respond to Trump’s win

Public congratulations but private foreboding as heads of state, ministers and diplomats express hopes for cooperation and peace

Western leaders raced to respond to the return of Donald Trump to the White House with a powerful mandate to put his policy of “America first” into action once again. But many of the public congratulations could do little to disguise the private foreboding of what the next four years will augur for European security, populism and the world economy.

Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister and the European leader closest to Trump, was one of the first to hail his ally’s victory. He posted on social media: “The biggest comeback in US political history! Congratulations to President @realDonaldTrump on his enormous win. A much-needed victory for the world!”

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Thousands of Georgians demonstrate against contested election results

Mood among protesters is one of deflation as some say Georgian Dream has already won

Thousands of Georgians have taken to the streets in the capital, Tbilisi, to rally against the results of a contested weekend parliamentary election in which the increasingly anti-western governing party was declared victorious amid reports of irregularities and voter intimidation.

The demonstration outside the parliament in the city centre was organised by the country’s pro-western opposition, which has refused to concede defeat and has accused the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party of election rigging.

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Hungary asks EU to strip parliamentary immunity from Italian MEP Ilaria Salis

Former teacher was detained in Budapest for alleged attack on neo-Nazis before being released in June

Hungary has called on the EU to strip parliamentary immunity from the Italian MEP Ilaria Salis, who was detained for 16 months in Budapest after an alleged attack on neo-Nazis.

The case of Salis, 39, a teacher from Monza, near Milan, sparked diplomatic protests and anger in Italy after she was brought last January to court in Hungary in chains, her hands cuffed and feet locked together.

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