Hungary PM Moves to Oust President

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said his government will begin procedures to remove President Tamas Sulyok if he refuses to resign, escalating a political standoff just weeks after Magyar took office.

Speaking in Budapest, Magyar said the president no longer represents national unity, a constitutional requirement, and accused him of failing to challenge controversial policies introduced under former Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Magyar's Tisza Party secured a landslide victory in April and now holds a two-thirds parliamentary majority, giving it the power to amend the constitution and pursue Sulyok’s removal.

The prime minister noted that the process could take about a month and forms part of a broader effort to replace officials appointed during Orban’s administration, whom he accused of undermining democratic institutions and the rule of law.

The political shift comes as the European Commission signals it may release up to €16.4 billion in previously frozen EU funds if Hungary continues implementing democratic and judicial reforms. The funding had been withheld over concerns about rule-of-law violations under the previous government.