politics

Instead of the unanimity required for Ukraine’s accession to the EU, public opinion in 11 EU Member States opposes the belligerent country’s accelerated accession. The majority of the population in several neighbouring and surrounding countries (Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic) as well as in Germany and France, the two most populous Member States of the European Union, do not support Ukraine’s accession to the European Union as soon as possible, according to the latest results of Századvég’s 2025 Project Europe survey.

The latest results of Századvég’s Project Europe survey show that, while Brussels decision-makers continue their policy of distancing themselves from China in the shadow of the US-China trade war, more than 50% of people in all EU Member States believe that the European Union should strive for peaceful economic cooperation with both the United States and China.

80% of European citizens believe the continent is stagnating or declining. The pessimistic attitude can best be explained by the growing cost-of-living crisis: one in three EU citizens has trouble making ends meet, and almost half would be unable to cover a large, unexpected expense. There are significant differences between Member States: while in Greece and Latvia, the relative majority struggles to make ends meet, in the Netherlands and Hungary, three quarters of the population are able to live on their income.

Between 2016 and 2025, support for nuclear energy in the EU increased from 17% to 42%, while opposition fell from 44% to 17%. The technology is one of the most positively perceived in Hungary: two-thirds of Hungarians believe that nuclear power plants should play a decisive role in the energy mix.

On 2 June 2025, Századvég Foundation hosted the conference “A Changing World Order: Questions and Answers for Europe”, which aimed to explore the challenges facing the European Union and the impact of global geopolitical shifts. The event also presented the results of Századvég's Project Europe survey for 2025, which highlighted the current problems and concerns of European citizens.

22% of Europeans are unable to heat their homes properly, and 26% have been unable to pay their utility bills in the past year due to lack of money. Thanks to the overhead cost reduction, Hungary has the lowest figures for both indicators among EU Member States. But the Brussels plan to ban Russian energy would jeopardise the programme, with serious social consequences.

While the European political elite is obsessed with war and armament, in 2025, more European citizens oppose arms deliveries to Ukraine (49%) than support them (44%), and 67% of EU respondents reject sending military troops to support Ukraine, according to the latest results of the Századvég Project Europe survey.

Brussels is considering a new measure to ban Russian energy imports into the European Union. According to Századvég estimates, the missing natural gas volumes would cause prices to double and volatility to increase on European natural gas exchanges, which would further undermine the EU’s competitiveness and increase Hungary’s energy bill by a total of HUF 1,100 billion. With the increased expenses, the overhead cost reduction policy would become unsustainable, and Hungarian families’ heating costs would increase three and a half times the current level, which would mean an average additional expense of nearly half a million forints per year.

In the first three years of the Russia-Ukraine war, Hungary was hit by costs of around 9,100 billion forints, which amounted to more than 2 million forints per family. Ukraine’s accelerated accession would increase the burden further. The direct costs would be close to 2 thousand billion forints per year, which would amount to almost half a million forints per household. Additional indirect costs, which are difficult to quantify, could be even higher.

Századvég’s latest analysis compares growth forecasts for the German economy with actual GDP growth. The figures show that Europe’s largest economy has systematically underperformed market expectations since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war. The European sanctions policy has therefore caused far greater economic damage than anyone had previously expected.

Századvég presented its latest research, which aims to explore the impact of recent crises on Hungarian society. The research focused on how crises have affected social stratification, mobility and mental health. The research used a multidimensional approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods to identify patterns of crisis impacts across different social groups and geographical units, and to explore deeper contexts and narratives.

The governing parties hold a confident lead among the parties, while the disapproval of Péter Magyar has increased significantly over the past month, according to Századvég's December opinion poll.

77% of Hungarians believe that there is a real chance that US President-elect Donald Trump will end the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine in 2025, Századvég's December survey found. The poll explored public attitudes towards recent developments in the war and the possibilities for peace-building.

The governing parties continue to have the highest social support, according to the November party preference survey by Századvég.