Relationship dossier
Hungary
United Kingdom
Relationship assessment
A practical partnership in security and trade coexists with political disagreements.
Hungary toward United Kingdom
+30The Hungarian government participates in bilateral strategic partnership arrangements with the United Kingdom, including cooperation on security, defence and trade. Hungarian policy has also diverged from UK positions on some European security and domestic-policy issues.
United Kingdom toward Hungary
+30The UK government has pursued a bilateral strategic partnership with Hungary covering security, defence and trade. It has also publicly criticized Hungarian measures affecting LGBTQ people and raised concerns about democratic standards.
Overall relationship
+30The relationship has a durable basis in bilateral cooperation on security, defence and trade, while political disagreements over Hungarian domestic policy and differing positions on European issues constrain closer alignment.
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 the United Kingdom maintain practical cooperation in areas including security, defence and trade, reflected in a bilateral strategic partnership. Relations also include political friction: the UK has criticized Hungary’s restrictions affecting LGBTQ people and concerns about democratic standards. Cooperation is substantive but sits alongside differences over domestic policy and the wider European security environment.
Areas of tension
- UK criticism of Hungarian restrictions affecting LGBTQ people
- UK concerns about democratic standards and rule of law in Hungary
- Differences in positions on European security policy
Key developments
Hungary and the United Kingdom established a strategic partnership covering cooperation including security, defence and trade.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of security and defence cooperation under the strategic partnership are unclear.
- The extent of bilateral cooperation after the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union is uncertain.