Hungary's Magyar heads to Berlin for EU reset talks

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar is due to begin a two-day visit to Germany on Monday as his government seeks to strengthen ties with the European Union and key allies.

Magyar is set to give a keynote speech on Monday evening on the future of Europe and Hungary's role in the EU at an event organised by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. He is scheduled to meet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday.

Hungary's delegation is also expected to include the foreign, economy, energy, defence and interior ministers, who are due to hold talks with their German counterparts.

Magyar took office in May after Viktor Orban's 16-year rule. Since then, he has sought to repair relations with Brussels and other EU countries.

Germany is Hungary's largest trade partner. Hungary hosts factories for major German companies including Audi, BMW and Mercedes.

In October, the European Union unfroze 4.2 billion euros in funds that had been blocked during the Orban years after Budapest carried out rule-of-law reforms under Magyar. A further 12.4 billion euros remains pending while Brussels assesses whether Hungary's measures meet requirements.

Daniel Hegedus of the Berlin-based Institute for European Politics said Magyar had largely succeeded in restoring Hungary's standing, but said there had been little demonstrable progress on ending Hungary's dependence on Russian fossil fuels.