Hungary’s incoming prime minister, Péter Magyar, announced on Facebook that the European Union flag will once again be displayed on the façade of the Parliament building alongside the Hungarian national flag and the Székely flag during the inaugural session of the National Assembly.
The statement marks a symbolic reversal of an earlier decision. In July 2024, it was reported that László Kövér, the Speaker of the National Assembly, had declined to place the EU flag on the Hungarian Parliament Building, even though Hungary had just assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union as of July 1.
Kövér justified his decision on two grounds: first, that he was adhering to a long-standing personal principle, and second, that there is no legal obligation requiring the EU flag to be displayed on the building.
This position, however, has been viewed as politically charged, especially in light of the contrasting treatment of other flags. Notably, Kövér had also ordered the display of the Székely flag—associated with aspirations for autonomy in the Székely Land region of Romania—despite the fact that there is likewise no legal requirement to do so.
He defended that decision as a gesture of solidarity, arguing that the use of the Székely flag is, in his view, unjustly restricted and penalized in Romania in ways that contradict European values. In 2014, Kövér’s office stated that the Székely flag would remain on the Parliament “until its lawful use is regulated by the Romanian government. ”
In a speech in Romania, he then himself mused that Romanian Hungarians are “loyal to the Romanian state and faithful to the Hungarian nation.
