Marco Rubio’s warm words to Viktor Orbán reinforce EU fears that US seeks disunity in Europe

Secretary of state spoke of ‘golden age’ of US-Hungary relations at time of tense transatlantic relations with traditional alliesEven before he in effect endorsed Hungary’s Viktor Orbán before of a crucial parliamentary election, Marco Rubio’s itinerary for Europe promised to be provocative. After meeting with US allies at the Munich Security Conference during a particularly tense moment in transatlantic relations, the US secretary of state departed for Slovakia and Hungary – the two EU states most dependent on Russian energy and sceptical of the bloc’s support for Ukraine.In what bordered on an explicit political endorsement, Rubio told Orbán that relations between Hungary and the US had entered a “golden age” – and would stay like that for as long as Orban remains in power. Continue reading…