The Path of Hungary's EU Membership

“In this pivotal volume, András Bíró-Nagy and Gergő Medve-Bálint bring together a distinguished group of Hungarian scholars to examine how Viktor Orbán has navigated the tensions between his political illiberalism and Hungary’s economic dependence within the European Union." – Professor Tanja Börzel, Director of the Center for European Integration, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

"This highly informative book offers a much-needed analysis of the political economy of Hungary’s EU membership. The volume is a must read for anyone interested in Hungary's trajectory over the past 20 years, and the conflicts shaping European integration today." – Professor Dorothee Bohle, University of Vienna, Austria

This book examines the impact of European Union membership in Hungary over the past two decades. It explores how successive Hungarian governments have either leveraged or failed to capitalize on the opportunities provided by the EU framework. Through a detailed analysis of various policy areas—including monetary and fiscal policy, regional policy, industrial policy, social policy and agricultural policy—the volume evaluates how EU regulatory influences have intersected with domestic policies to shape Hungary's development trajectory.

The book highlights both the boundaries of EU influence and the constraints of domestic political and economic agency in a small, open economy grappling with the challenges of dependent development. This book will appeal to students, researchers, and policymakers in the fields of political economy, European studies, and public policy.

András Bíró-Nagy is a Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Department of Government and Public Policy at the Institute for Political Science, HUN-REN Centre for Social Sciences, and Director of Policy Solutions.

Gergő Medve-Bálint is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Political Science, HUN-REN Centre for Social Sciences, and Associate Professor at the Institute for Social and Political Sciences at the Corvinus University of Budapest.