OPEN LETTER: To Budapest, Which Has Finally Stopped Shielding a Fugitive

What Warsaw Announced on July 2

Dear Hungarian leaders, I write to you the day after an announcement that deserves to be praised without hesitation. On July 2, 2026, Poland confirmed that Hungary had revoked the refugee status granted to a fugitive Polish minister, reviving longstanding diplomatic tensions between Warsaw and Budapest, against a backdrop of internal political rivalries within the European Union. This is not an administrative footnote. It is the end of a protection that should never have existed.

Poland's foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, confirmed it publicly on X: "I have received written confirmation that Hungary has revoked the refugee status of Marcin Romanowski, Zbigniew Ziobro and Patrycja Kotecka-Ziobro. It has also invalidated their travel documents. The wheels of justice turn slowly, but they turn". This measured but firm sentence deserves to be addressed directly to you, Hungarian leaders, because it tells the story of what your own change of government has made possible.

Why This Letter Is Addressed to You

I write to you because this decision, however belated, illustrates a simple principle the whole of Europe should defend consistently: no political asylum should ever shield a public official from the legal consequences of a documented abuse of power. For years, your country offered shelter to people Polish justice wanted to question. That shelter has just ended, and it's right to say so.

There's something deeply satisfying in watching justice reclaim, even slowly, ground it had lost. This letter isn't a settling of scores. It's an acknowledgment: sometimes political change alone is enough to reopen doors once thought closed for good.

A Former Justice Minister Turned Fugitive

Zbigniew Ziobro served as Poland's justice minister under successive PiS (Law and Justice) governments, from 2015 to 2023. He is now facing accusations of abuse of power tied to the management of a public fund for crime victims, a case the new Polish majority led by Donald Tusk reopened after taking power in December 2023. Ziobro fled Poland for Hungary, and is now believed to be in the United States, according to reports in the Polish press.

His former deputy, Marcin Romanowski, along with Ziobro's wife, Patrycja Kotecka-Ziobro, are also among those whose refugee status has just been revoked by Budapest. These three names, now stripped of Hungarian protection, embody an entire chapter of Polish politics the ruling coalition in Warsaw seeks to close through the courts.

What Warsaw Actually Accuses Them Of

The Polish legal case concerns the alleged fraudulent management of the Justice Fund, a public mechanism meant to support crime victims, which Ziobro is accused of diverting to finance projects unrelated to its stated mission, including political communication spending. These accusations, documented by current Polish authorities, form the basis of the arrest warrants targeting the three individuals involved.

Diverting a fund meant for crime victims to finance one's own political survival: that's an abuse of power that should never find refuge anywhere in Europe, under any ideological banner.

Ideological Solidarity Between National-Conservative Governments

Former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had granted asylum to Ziobro and those close to him, a gesture rooted in a long-standing ideological solidarity between the national-conservative governments of Budapest and Warsaw under the PiS era. This alliance, which had notably shown itself through a common front within the European Union against certain rule-of-law reforms, had made Hungary a natural refuge for Polish officials fleeing prosecution by Tusk's new majority.

This political protection illustrated a phenomenon several European observers criticized at the time: using European Union membership to offer, de facto, a form of impunity to individuals wanted by another member state's justice system, relying on ideological disagreements rather than genuine legal safeguards.

The Change of Government in Budapest Changes Everything

That refuge only survived as long as Hungary's political line matched the one that had granted it. The arrival of a new Hungarian administration, led by Péter Magyar and oriented toward a more conventional rapprochement with European institutions, directly led to the revision of this refugee status. This shift shows just how fragile such political protections remain: they depend less on law than on the survival of the government that granted them.

Here's the bitter lesson of this affair: a refuge built on a leader's ideology, rather than on solid legal principle, is only as good as that leader. When he falls, the refuge falls with him. That's fragile, and it's a good thing it's fragile.

Péter Magyar, an Open Break From the Orbán Era

The revocation of refugee status for Ziobro, Romanowski and Kotecka-Ziobro sends a strong political signal from the current Hungarian government, which is seeking to distance itself from Orbán-era foreign policy practices and disregard for European judicial mechanisms. This gesture, though tied to a specific bilateral case, fits within a broader effort to bring Hungary back onto a path of closer cooperation with its European Union partners.

Poland's interior minister, Marcin Kierwiński, also confirmed this revocation through his Hungarian counterpart, Gábor Pósfai, underscoring that this decision resulted from direct bilateral coordination between the two governments, not a simple unilateral Polish announcement.

A Credibility Test for the New Hungarian Authorities

This decision also constitutes a credibility test for the new Hungarian government: agreeing to reverse a protection granted by its predecessor, even when that implies implicitly acknowledging the previous administration's excesses, takes political courage that deserves recognition. Poland, for its part, now expects further concrete steps so that this revocation translates into an actual return of the three individuals before Polish justice.

Acknowledging a predecessor's mistakes is never a comfortable exercise in politics. That Budapest has done so here, even partially, deserves to be noted as a sign of institutional maturity rather than dismissed as mere diplomatic calculation.

Ziobro Reportedly Left Hungary for America

According to reports in the Polish press, Zbigniew Ziobro is now believed to be in the United States, where the revocation of his Hungarian refugee status and the invalidation of his travel documents considerably complicate his legal situation. Poland wants American authorities to determine whether Ziobro can legally remain on U.S. soil without valid travel documents, a question that, if resolved against the fugitive, could open the door to deportation or extradition proceedings.

This transatlantic dimension of the case illustrates how far-reaching a matter of corruption, initially strictly Polish, can become. It also places the American administration in a delicate position, having to balance bilateral diplomatic considerations against compliance with immigration procedures applicable to someone whose travel documents have been officially invalidated by a third country.

Warsaw's Ultimate Goal: A Trial, Not Revenge

Current Polish authorities insist their goal remains to bring Ziobro and Romanowski before Polish justice to answer the abuse of power charges against them, through an ordinary judicial process, not a political retaliation operation. This distinction, essential on democratic principle, deserves to be restated: a change in political majority should never become a pretext for judicial persecution of opponents, but it also shouldn't serve as a shield for documented acts of corruption.

The line between legitimate justice and political score-settling is thin, and Europe has enough recent examples to stay wary of it. But a documented case, built on verifiable facts rather than political opinion, remains a legal matter, not a vendetta.

A Precedent for Other Similar Cases in Europe

This revocation sets a significant precedent for the entire European Union, where several political officials accused of corruption or abuse of power in their home countries have, in the past, found refuge with ideologically aligned partners. The fact that Hungary, long criticized for its closeness to governments challenging European rule-of-law principles, is willing to reverse such protection sends a signal that this kind of political refuge is no longer automatically guaranteed within the Union.

This precedent could, over time, discourage other European officials targeted by corruption investigations from viewing an ideologically aligned neighboring country as an automatic refuge, modestly but concretely strengthening the judicial coherence of the European space.

A Europe That Must Stay Vigilant Despite This Progress

It would still be premature to celebrate a total victory for European rule of law based on this one case alone. Similar situations persist elsewhere on the continent, and the consistency of applying European judicial cooperation principles remains uneven depending on the political balance of power at any given moment. This case should be seen as a positive step, not proof of a now-infallible system.

I'm always wary of victories celebrated too quickly. This case is moving forward, and that's true and that's good. But Europe still has a lot of work to do before justice stops depending on the electoral calendar of this or that member state.

Two Political Trajectories Diverging Since 2023

Since the coalition led by Donald Tusk took power in December 2023, Poland has embarked on a trajectory of clear rapprochement with European institutions and a break from certain PiS-era practices deemed contrary to judicial independence. Hungary, conversely, had for several years remained the European partner most reluctant to align its energy and foreign policy with the Union's common positions, particularly on issues related to Russia and support for Ukraine.

This divergence in trajectories made the protection Budapest granted Polish fugitives all the more significant: it symbolized a form of ideological resistance to the political change that had taken place in Warsaw. Its lifting today, under a new Hungarian administration, potentially marks the end of this specific fault line, even as other disagreements between the two capitals persist on separate matters.

What This Means for Cohesion Against Russia

A Hungary more aligned with common European positions, including on bilateral judicial matters like this one, also sends a positive signal for Western cohesion against Vladimir Putin's Russia. A European bloc less fractured on internal principle questions logically has a greater capacity to maintain a common line on major strategic files, notably continued support for Ukraine against Russian aggression.

Every internal crack mended within the European Union is a crack Moscow can no longer exploit. This case, seemingly purely judicial, therefore carries a geopolitical dimension that goes well beyond the personal fate of three Polish fugitives.

Concrete Gestures, Not Just Symbolic Ones

Revoking refugee status is a necessary but insufficient step for Warsaw. Polish authorities now hope for concrete cooperation from American authorities to clarify Ziobro's legal status on U.S. soil, as well as a possible extradition or voluntary return process, though no precise mechanism has yet been officially announced at this stage by the governments involved.

Minister Sikorski, with his phrase "the wheels of justice turn slowly, but they turn," signals patient but determined expectation: Poland doesn't consider this case closed, but engaged on a trajectory whose outcome remains to be written in the coming months.

A Letter That Ends With an Open Question

Hungarian leaders, your decision of July 2 marks a turning point. It doesn't undo the years during which this refuge existed, but it opens a path the whole of Europe should watch closely. The question that remains, and to which only your next decision can answer, is simple: will this revocation stay an isolated gesture, or will it mark the start of more systematic judicial cooperation between our two countries?

An open letter only makes sense if it expects a reply. This one is waiting for yours, Hungarian leaders: through actions, not press releases.

What This Case Proves, Despite Its Limits

This open letter closes on a measured but real observation: Polish justice has just reclaimed ground it had lost for several years, thanks to a change of government in Budapest that made possible what once seemed politically impossible. Zbigniew Ziobro, Marcin Romanowski and Patrycja Kotecka-Ziobro no longer enjoy Hungarian protection, and their legal situation, particularly in the United States, has become considerably more uncertain.

A Call for Consistency Rather Than Celebration

It would be excessive to turn this decision into a definitive triumph. It represents a step, important but partial, in a judicial process that remains to be concluded. The true measure of this case's success will be seen in the months ahead: in Warsaw, Budapest and Washington's ability to turn an administrative revocation into a genuine accounting before a Polish court.

Hungarian leaders, I close this letter with a simple conviction: you took a right step. Take another. Europe doesn't ask you for perfection, only for consistency.

By Maxime Marquette, columnist

Editorial stance

I am not a journalist but a columnist and analyst. My expertise lies in observing and analysing the geopolitical, economic and strategic dynamics that shape our world. My work is to take political strategies apart, to understand global economic movements, to put the decisions of international actors in context and to offer analytical perspectives on the changes that are redefining our societies.

I do not claim the cold objectivity of traditional journalism, which stops at reporting facts. I claim analytical clarity, rigorous interpretation and a deep understanding of the complex issues that concern us all. My role is to give meaning to the facts, to place them in their historical and strategic context, and to offer a critical reading of events.

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