Hungary Becomes Main Lobbyist for Georgian Dream Government in Europe

Executive Summary

• Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s recent visit to Hungary, by personal invitation of his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orbán, underlines growing cooperation between Tbilisi and Budapest, as the European Union accuses the Georgian Dream government of suppressing democratic protests and violating human rights.
• Orbán has demonstrated growing support for Georgian Dream and even flew to Tbilisi after the October 2024 parliamentary elections to congratulate the ruling party personally. Opposition parties and former President Salome Zourabichvili stand by their assessment of the elections as “totally rigged.”
• Beyond vetoing tougher EU sanctions on Georgian Dream officials, Orbán is using a shared affinity with Georgian Dream for authoritarian tendencies to justify both governments’ Russia-style policies and to put more pressure on Brussels for Georgia’s EU membership.

On June 11, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze contended that Georgia and Hungary “face similar challenges, and it is vital that we stand together in addressing them.” His comments came during a joint press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Budapest. Kobakhidze also thanked Orbán and the Hungarian people for their “unwavering support” and promised that “Georgia will always stand where the interests of the Hungarian people lie” (1tv.ge, June 11).

Brussels views Orbán’s personal invitation to Kobakhidze as a challenge to its policies and worries about increased coordination between Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party and Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party (1tv.ge, June 11). EU leaders are closely monitoring recent developments in Georgia, where mass protests continue to demand the Georgian Dream’s resignation and call for new parliamentary elections. The demonstrators also demand the release of more than 50 opposition activists who were arrested and face long prison terms based on alleged charges of “mass violence” in December 2024 clashes with police (see EDM, December 6, 2024). Georgia’s authoritarian turn in recent months, as propagated by the Georgian Dream government, has put Tbilisi at odds with Brussels. In this heated environment, Orbán’s government fancies itself as Tbilisi’s primary European partner and advocate for the country’s future membership in the European Union—all while justifying Georgian Dream’s Russia-style policies.

The most recent Hungarian-Georgian government consultations come on the heels of growing developments in bilateral cooperation. While trade between the two countries is still relatively insignificant, it is steadily growing (Bm.ge, June 12). Additionally, Georgia and Hungary, along with Azerbaijan and Romania, are engaged in a joint project to lay a 1,100-kilometer (683-mile) electricity cable along the bottom of the Black Sea connecting the Caucasus to Europe by transporting energy from Azerbaijan to the European Union via Georgia. The project was first agreed upon in December 2022, and Orbán visited Georgia in October 2023 to gauge its progress (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, December 17, 2022; Civil Georgia, December 12, 2023).

In recent years, Georgian and Hungarian leaders have often mentioned “common conservative values” as the basis for stronger cooperation, if not an outright political union between Tbilisi and Budapest. In 2023, Orbán invited then-Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili to join the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Budapest. In his speech, Garibashvili called Orbán “truly an exemplary politician [ruler], fighter, and striving Christian man.” He slammed those who propagate “false freedoms” aimed at the destruction of traditional values and warned of forces that seek to undermine traditional values and control people by “coercing false freedoms” and “promoting LGBTQ+ propaganda.” Garibashvili emphasized, “Our main weapon and foundation is traditional, Christian, conservative, family values” (1tv.ge May 4, 2023). After that conference, Orbán began to view Georgia as one of Hungary’s main partners outside the European Union.

Hungary is the only European country to extend Kobakhidze a personal invitation since the contested Georgian parliamentary elections in October 2024. While the Georgian opposition and former President Salome Zourabichvili still do not recognize the results of those elections, Orbán visited Georgia in October and personally congratulated Georgian Dream officials on their victory (Government of Hungary; Radiotavisupleba.ge, October 29, 2024).

Most recently, in Budapest, Kobakhidze repeatedly criticized the European Union. He claimed, “We have seen repeated cases in which institutions linked to European bureaucracy have funded extremist activities and interfered in our elections. This shows a troubling lack of respect for Georgia’s state sovereignty—something we find deeply regrettable.” Orbán agreed, “‘I love my homeland.’ ‘I am proud of my country’—such phrases are now considered shameful in the West and are no longer used.” The Hungarian leader added that Hungarians, as well as Georgians, “love saying these words and are delighted to host guests who share the same feelings and sentiments” (Government of Hungary, June 11). Kobakhidze also thanked Orbán for supporting Georgia’s European aspirations. He asserted, “Our goal is clear and ambitious: EU membership by 2030.”

EU leaders are more skeptical. They have repeatedly said that Georgia, under Georgian Dream, is no longer a democracy, though the country retains formal candidate status (see EDM, December 10, 2024, January 13, February 11). Brussels has imposed, among other measures, visa sanctions against holders of Georgian diplomatic passports (see EDM, May 7, June 4). European leaders have also pushed for tougher sanctions against Georgian Dream leaders, but Hungary and Slovakia continue to block such measures (Civil Georgia, December 10, 2024; Euronews,  December 16, 2024).

Orbán’s statements dismayed but did not surprise opposition leaders in Georgia. In an interview with this author on June 15, Petre Tsiskarishvili, general secretary of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party, addressed the growing cooperation between Tbilisi and Budapest. He pointed out, “In the aftermath of the massively rigged parliamentary elections, Georgia’s Georgian Dream government is struggling to be recognized by the democratic West. Hence, the ruling Georgian Dream party has found its only European friend in Orbán.” Tsiskarishvili underlined, “The two governments have a shared value system in terms of authoritarian tendencies as well as their growing partnership with [Russian President] Vladimir Putin … This friendship and frequent visits to Budapest give Georgian Dream and its supporters an illusion of political legitimacy” (Author’s interview, June 15).

Ghia Nodia, a professor at Ilia State University in Tbilisi, argues that the Georgian Dream needs to normalize relations with the West to demonstrate progress to its supporters. In an interview with this author, Nodia said, “So far, Georgian Dream has achieved nothing—good relations with Hungary are the only exception.” Georgian Dream leader Bidzina Ivanishvili, nevertheless, is not “giving up on the prospect of normalizing relations with the European Union as well as [U.S. President Donald] Trump’s government. He hopes that Orbán can serve as the best ‘middleman,’ best ally in achieving that goal” (Author’s interview, June).

David Avalishvili from independent news outlet Nation.ge contends that Orbán sees Georgia as another pawn to play in his ongoing feud with EU leaders. In an interview with this author on June 14, Avalishvili said, “For Orbán, Georgia is one of the chess pieces in the long-term, really very sophisticated game he is playing with Brussels.” The Georgian expert also pointed to Orbán’s first visit to Tbilisi in 2012, four days before decisive parliamentary elections, to support then-Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s ruling UNM party (Civil Georgia, September 27, 2012; Author’s interview, June 14).

Whether Orbán would support the next Georgian government in the event that opposition forces are able to regain power through new elections peacefully remains an open question. For now, Budapest seems focused on building relations with Tbilisi based on a shared affinity for authoritarian governance and overlapping economic and political interests. Orbán’s government will likely continue advocating for Georgia’s membership in the European Union to put additional pressure on Brussels and further justify its own Russia-style policies.