Relationship dossier
Hungary
Italy
Relationship assessment
Strategic partnership and shared forums support cooperation, alongside differences over Russia and Ukraine.
Hungary toward Italy
+35Hungary joined Italy in elevating bilateral ties through a strategic partnership and cooperates with Italy within the EU and NATO. Hungarian policy on Russia and Ukraine, however, differs from Italy’s support for Kyiv.
Italy toward Hungary
+35Italy joined Hungary in elevating bilateral ties through a strategic partnership and cooperates with Hungary within the EU and NATO. Italy’s support for Ukraine differs from Hungary’s approach to Russia and assistance for Kyiv.
Overall relationship
+30The relationship has a cooperative institutional foundation, including a bilateral strategic partnership and shared participation in the EU and NATO. Political alignment on some issues, including migration, is offset by differences over Russia and Ukraine. These features support a broadly cooperative but not uniformly aligned relationship.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Hungary and Italy maintain a cooperative relationship within the European Union and NATO, reinforced by a bilateral strategic partnership. Their governments have also shared some political priorities, including on migration. Important differences remain, particularly over Hungary’s Russia policy and its approach to support for Ukraine, which contrasts with Italy’s support for Kyiv.
Areas of tension
- Hungary’s Russia policy and approach to assistance for Ukraine differ from Italy’s support for Kyiv.
Key developments
Hungary and Italy elevated their bilateral relationship through a strategic partnership.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of the bilateral strategic partnership are unclear.
- The extent of practical cooperation on defense and migration is unclear.
- The future effect of differences over Russia and support for Ukraine on bilateral cooperation is uncertain.