Germany denies US accusations of European Union interference in Hungarian elections

Germany on Wednesday strongly rejected US Vice President JD Vance’s claim that the European Union (EU) was interfering in Hungary’s legislative elections, accusing Washington of trying to influence voters.

“We reject the accusation made by US Vice President JD Vance,” declared Sebastian Hille, deputy spokesperson for Chancellor Friedrich Merz, at a press conference in Berlin.

“The vice president of the United States visited Hungary just a few days before the legislative elections. And this fact alone shows or speaks for itself as to who is interfering in what,” he added.

Hille’s comments came hours after Vance completed a high-profile visit to Budapest, where he met with Prime Minister Viktor Orban and openly supported his re-election bid.

At a joint press conference on Tuesday, Vance hailed Orban as “the most impactful leader in Europe on energy, energy security and independence,” suggesting his policies could serve as a model for the continent.

Vance also sharply criticized the EU, accusing Brussels of punishing Hungary for its policy choices and attempting to restrict the will of Hungarian voters.

EU bureaucrats have “done everything they can to restrain the Hungarian people,” Vance said. He called the EU’s actions “one of the worst examples of foreign interference in an election” that he had ever seen, criticizing Brussels in particular for having, according to him, exerted pressure on social networks in order to control the information presented to the Hungarian voters.

*Translated from English by Ayse Bashoruz