The conference presenting the results of the Project Europe survey was opened by Kinga Kenyeres, Director General of Századvég Foundation, who said that the results of this survey were being presented for the tenth time.
In her speech, she emphasised that ten years were a long time, especially given that Europe had undergone radical changes during that period. Nowadays, it is particularly important that not only political and economic decisions are made, but that there is also a genuine exchange of ideas based on reliable data, common understanding and open questions.
This period has made it clear that, on top of its economic and security problems, Europe also has a deep-rooted problem with its elite. The leaders of the European Union – the elite – are pursuing their own ideas, ignoring the interests of the European people. Századvég’s representative Project Europe survey shows that people are increasingly pessimistic about the future and that the solutions to the crises have not truly reflected the expectations and values of European citizens.
In her speech, she emphasised that the essence of the Project Europe survey is to draw attention to issues where there is tension between the people and the elite. “After all, we can only build a future if we face up to the past, and we can only make valid decisions if we listen to the voice of the people”, said Kinga Kenyeres.
Europe has no future without the Patriots
Dr János Bóka, Minister for European Affairs, emphasised in his presentation that the Project Europe is a valuable and commendable research initiative that offers opportunities for a deeper understanding of political and economic trends. He pointed out that the world, including Europe, is undergoing significant transformation, but that the centre of these changes is not on the European continent; rather, the EU is following these global trends. A multipolar world order is emerging, he said, which will bring new challenges for the European Union.
The minister also pointed out that inflation remains a serious problem in Europe and, regardless of the outcome of the fight against it, the previous low interest rate environment will not return.
Is Europe preparing for war? This was the title of a presentation given by Áron Hidvégi, Deputy Chairman of Századvég Foundation, who said that European citizens want peace, but the Brussels political elite is elite is obsessed with war. He added that people can get used to certain crises, but the threat of war is not one of them, as is clear from the results, with Europeans still deeply concerned about the course of the war. In his speech, he emphasised that the European population is increasingly opposed to sending arms to Ukraine, with the number of opponents growing year on year. He stressed that European public opinion is dominated by a sovereigntist position, and that EU citizens do not want a centralised say in their countries’ internal affairs. Opinion on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union is far from unanimous; even in large countries such as Germany and France, the majority are opposed to forced accession.
Europe is losing ground in three areas, said Tamás Deutsch, Member of the European Parliament. He explained that, from an economic perspective, China and America are already ahead of Europe. On the ideological front, woke culture is on the decline, as demonstrated by the victory of a candidate supported by Patriots in Poland. He emphasised that Brussels’ strategy for Ukraine had also collapsed. He added that they want to break out of the three defeats by forcing Ukraine to join the EU, but this will only push the European Union towards another disaster. According to Tamás Deutsch, Hungarians were not right, but they will be right, as confirmed by Századvég’s latest Europe survey.
Afterwards, Erik Bánki, Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Parliament’s Committee on Economic Affairs, spoke about how the Project Europe survey helps to provide a comprehensive picture of the situation and social trends in European countries, while highlighting people’s views on key political issues. He also emphasised that current political and economic changes make continuous adaptation and a flexible approach to new challenges essential. “Patriotism is not merely an emotion, but a series of actions, including economic decisions that put national interests above all else”, said Erik Bánki in his speech. Furthermore, the results of the strategy to open up to the East, the importance of relations with the United States and Asia, the wage increase programme and the role of family and economic support were also discussed.
Is the glass half empty or half full?
Dr Péter Pillók, Director of the Social Trends and Media Research Institute of the Századvég Foundation, gave a presentation entitled “Is the glass half empty or half full?”, during which he shared the findings of the household survey with the audience. In his presentation, he said that 48% of respondents believed that the financial situation of households had deteriorated by 2025. At the same time, 71% did not experience any difficulties in paying their bills, a figure that is particularly positive for Hungary. It is important to stress, however, that the overall picture is rather heterogeneous, so there are different trends.
The survey suggests that economic pessimism has hit rock bottom, with 37% of respondents answering that they expect their household’s financial situation to deteriorate over the next year. In contrast, Europe is less pessimistic about AI, with the majority of respondents perceiving it as a benefit rather than a threat.
The morning session of the conference ended with a roundtable discussion moderated by Soma Csaba Lehotzky, Head of Research at the Economic Trends Research Institute of Századvég Foundation. The experts discussed topics related to the economy and livelihoods.
Dr András Hajdú, Deputy State Secretary at the Public Policy Analysis Office, explained that it is disappointing to see that the proportion of Europeans who are pessimistic about their children’s future is growing. The EU leaders in Brussels have not addressed the long-term effects of the polycrisis of recent years (migration, COVID, inflation, sanctions policy, etc.), which has become a persistent problem over the years.
André Palóc, spokesperson of the Ministry for National Economy, pointed out that the issue of energy poverty needs to be raised again and again, as the Brussels elite does not focus on it, even though one in four families in EU Member States is struggling with it. Through its overhead cost reduction scheme, the Hungarian government is providing a lifeline to those who are hardest hit by soaring energy prices.
Piroska Szalai, the Prime Minister’s Commissioner, pointed out that, besides Századvég’s Project Europe survey, Eurostat is also reporting a similar sense of prosperity, with the difference that they are only publishing data for 2023, while Századvég has fresh data for 2025. She pointed out that since 2010, average income has increased by 80% and, in real terms, there has been a significant increase in the income of families, both among those who are active and passive earners.
Geopolitical and energy challenges
Dr Gábor Czepek, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, said in his presentation that, instead of ideology-based thinking, common sense must prevail in energy issues. He said that the European Union tried to use the energy sector to weaken Russia, but this proved to be a bad tool, because it was not Russia but the competitiveness of the EU that was weakened. To make Europe competitive again on gas and electricity, he said, 4 things are needed: a revision of the carbon quota, a nuclear renaissance, a storage action programme and an immediate ceasefire.
Dr Olivér Hortay, Director of the Economic Trends Research Institute of Századvég Foundation, gave a presentation in which he outlined two main messages. For one thing, he pointed out that the carbon tax needs to be revised. In his view, the European Commission’s radical, ideology-driven climate and green policies are not rational, lack social support and are causing serious damage to EU industry and the economy. The other main message of the presentation focused on energy policy, stressing that the EU should concentrate on its own internal problems. The biggest challenge in the European Union today is not the presence of Russian energy resources, but the fact that one in four EU citizens live in energy poverty.
“Over the past four years, the number of people who have been unable to pay their utility bills has increased by 65 million”
,said Olivér Hortay.
Zoltán Kiszelly, Director of Policy Analysis of Századvég Foundation, moderated the roundtable discussion in Section II. Discussions focused on current geopolitical issues such as Ukraine’s accession to the EU and the assessment of European leaders.
András László, Member of the European Parliament, pointed out that, after the strategic failures of recent years, Brussels is currently only able to present one concrete political goal, Ukraine’s accession to the EU, while economic considerations are being pushed into the background. He stressed that, apart from the closest allies in the Western world, the overwhelming majority of the international community has not taken a clear stand in favour of Ukraine.
According to Gábor Megadja, Director of the Research Institute for Political Thought at Századvég Foundation, the European Union has an interest in maintaining the state of war by any means necessary. Referring to the thoughts of a German author, he said that in the socialist era, society was driven by the desire to achieve a ‘bright future’, but this has now been replaced by the fact that utopian energies have been exhausted, there is always some catastrophe to escape from, and these negative goals justify the political decisions currently being implemented by the European Union.
Dr Péter Sztáray, State Secretary for Security Policy and Energy Security at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade, believes that the European Union is characterised by a kind of compulsive activism, and that Donald Trump’s presidency has forced EU decision-makers to act hastily. Since Ukraine’s NATO membership is not a realistic option, they are trying to offer an alternative by supporting EU membership. He emphasised, however, that when Ukraine’s accession actually comes up for discussion, other Member States, like Hungary, may question the sincerity and soundness of the process.
Dr Árpád Kovács, member of the Prime Minister’s Strategic Advisory Board, explained that historically there are many emotional factors between Europe and Russia, which are expressed in a kind of ongoing struggle, and many politicians base their views on events related to Soviet history. He emphasised that European politics had essentially reached a point of no return, European politicians had been forced into action and wanted to return to the negotiating table, and that this was determining their behaviour.
Another roundtable discussion was chaired by Kinga Kenyeres, Director General, who shared the latest results of the survey with the participants. According to this, 33% of respondents believe that: Europe is in decline. According to recent data, Europeans trust the Union more than EU leaders. This year’s survey results show that the majority believe that the European Union interferes too much in the affairs of Member States.
Reflecting on the results, Dr Tibor Navracsics, Minister for Public Administration and Regional Development, said that people love Europe and European values, but they do not trust the European Union as it stands today. He added that the responses also show that European citizens do not think the EU can keep up with the world.
Balázs Hidvéghi, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister, believes that Europe failed to regain its leading economic role in the world after the world wars. Brussels is going in the wrong direction, he said, by over-regulating. He cited the example of over-ideologised greening as a drag on the European economy. He added that the EU leadership is creating internal conflicts instead of working effectively.
Ádám Kavecsánszki, Chairman of the Foundation for a Civic Hungary, believes that Brussels leaders have washed “Europeanism out of Europe” and that the prosperity, security, peace and freedom that Central and Eastern Europeans once desired no longer exist.
He also said that European competitiveness should be compared with that of its major competitors, noting that between 2014 and 2024, the EU’s annual GDP growth was 1.9%, while that of the United States was 2.5% and China’s was 5.8%.
The closing speech of the conference was delivered by Robert J. Palladino, Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Hungary. He stressed that our common task is to preserve and uphold the values that have a prominent role in the construction of the Western world. He stressed that political systems often seek answers to their own needs rather than to the needs of the people, but the message is clear: people want order, security and peace.
Source: Századvég’s own edition, MTI
