In contrast to the current policy of the European Union countries and NATO, Hungary and Republika Srpska hold their own independent positions on a number of issues. This has brought Budapest and Banja Luka closer together in the last few years. Their interaction has intensified since 2024, when, as I see it from the perspective of a Banja Luka local, Budapest became a key ally of Repulbika Srpska. Let us take a closer look at these events and prospects for the development of relations between Budapest and Banja Luka.
Pages of History
The history of Hungarians in what is now Republika Srpska dates back to the Middle Ages. Starting in the 12th century, the Hungarian king was the sovereign of Medieval Bosnia, and Bosnian bans were vassals of the Hungarian crown. The northern part of today’s Republika Srpska played a vital role in the defence of the Hungarian Kingdom in the 16th century as the Ottomans began to advance toward the Sava and Danube rivers.
Many maps have preserved Hungarian toponyms. For example: Alföld (in Serbian Donji Kraji, or ‘Lower Ends’, a medieval region surrounding the Vrbas, Sana, and Vrbanja rivers south of Banja Luka); Orbászvár (the name for the Fortress of Vrbas, which is likely to have been located in the southern part of today’s Banja Luka and is often mistaken for the city’s ancient Hungarian name); Petróc (Petrićevac, a village that stood in place of the modern-day northwestern district of Banja Luka); Breszt (Brestovo, a village near Mrkonjić Grad); Kotor (the fortress in Kotor Varoš); Barkaszád (Brčko); Halomfölde (Hum Land, i.e. Herzegovina), and others.
The history of Serbs in Hungary begins much later. Their presence in the Middle Danube region can also be traced on the maps. Hungarians referred to Serbs as Raci (rácok), and this word has been preserved in a number of toponyms, for example, Ráckeve (known as Srpski Kovin in Serbian). Many Hungarian cities also have Serbian names that have persisted to this day: Budimpešta (Budapest), Stoni Beograd (Székesfehérvár), Pečuj (Pécs), Ostrogom (Esztergom), Segedin (Szeged), and others. It was to these cities that Serbs from the southern Serbian lands fled during the 17th and 18th centuries, seeking refuge from the Ottoman occupation and forced Islamisation. Under the Habsburg and Austro-Hungarian monarchies, many distinguished Serbs studied or lived in Budapest, including Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, the renowned reformer of the Serbian language. For many years, Budapest – more precisely, its Taban district on the right bank of the Danube – remained the heart of Serbian culture. A lot of Serbs took part in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and gained fame as Hungarian revolutionaries. The most famous of them was Sándor Petőfi (Aleksandar Petrović), a Hungarian poet of Serbian-Slovak descent.
Despite the hardships faced by the Serbs, particularly in the period preceding the 1956 revolution, they continued to live in Hungary, still identifying themselves by the ancient Hungarian term – Rácok. The country’s authorities actively supported the preservation of Serbian culture.
The close ties between Serbs and Hungarians, who have lived side by side for over a thousand years, are also eloquently reflected in the numerous mutual borrowings in the Serbian and Hungarian languages.
New Leaders
In the 1990s, Serbs and Hungarians drew significantly closer together. Especially the Serbs of Republika Srpska, which was established in 1992. Both the RS and Hungary broke away from the one-party socialist system to embrace democracy. Following the severe political and economic crises of the 1990s and 2000s, by the end of the first decade of the 21st century, both republics saw the return to power of leaders who had already held office in the late 20th century: Viktor Orbán, whose political journey began after the 1989 reburial of Imre Nagy, and the reformist Milorad Dodik. In 1998, the former became the Prime Minister of Hungary, while the latter – the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska.
In the early 21st century, Milorad Dodik won the 2006 general election as a result of the then-President Dragan Čavić’s inability to resist the transfer of Republika Srpska’s powers to the central authorities. Viktor Orbán won the 2010 election because Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány was unable to cope with the consequences of the economic crisis in Hungary. Dodik ensured stable development for Republika Srpska and strengthened its political standing inside Bosnia and Herzegovina. Orban’s tough economic policy known in the West as Orbanomics turned Hungary into a mid-sized economic and political power in Europe.
Both leaders also began to pursue a policy of nationalism and sovereigntism. Before 2006, Serbian nationalist sentiment was relatively low, but then political thought in Republika Srpska shifted toward more active defence of the national interests and sovereignty. Hungarian political nationalism emerged in opposition to the Brussels-Washington neoliberal order, George Soros, and his controversial foundation. This struggle became more acute during the migrant crisis of 2014-2015, when Hungary closed its borders to migrants from Asia and Africa seeking to maintain order not only within its own territory but also in the European Union.
Strive for Independence
Today, the RS and Hungary hold a pro-Russian position, defending their freedom to choose allies and partners. First and foremost, this concerns the possibility to cooperate with Russia.
The sovereigntism of Budapest and Banja Luka may look different on the surface, but fundamentally, their approaches are the same. Hungarian sovereigntists oppose Hungary’s inclusion in a unified European federation, which Brussels politicians present as the future of the European Union. Serbian sovereigntism in Republika Srpska withstands the policy of Kállayism – named after Benjamin Kállay, the governor of BiH, who attempted to forge a unified, tri-confessional Bosnian nation with a single Bosnian language. Just as it is vital for Hungarians not to become a province of a European federation and be reduced to being just Europeans, so too is it essential for the Serbs of Republika Srpska not to lose their identity, their republic, and not to be reduced to merely Orthodox Bosnians. This explains why politicians from the RS and Hungary understand each other so well.
The emphasis of the Hungarian and RS domestic policies is on protecting children and Christian family values, resisting the influence of the ideology of non-traditional sexual minorities on education and everyday life. In June 2021, Hungary adopted the Act LXXIX of 2021 on Taking More Severe Action against Paedophile Offenders and Amending Certain Acts for the Protection of Children. While Republika Srpska does not have a similar law, the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Banja Luka has repeatedly banned activities organized by pro-LGBT groups and organizations supporting non-traditional sexual life-styles and related ideology. Hungary and Republika Srpska also hold similar positions on illegal economic migration from North Africa and the Middle East region. Both countries criticise Berlin and Brussels for the situation in the Middle East, calling upon them to take responsibility for their own actions and claiming their unwillingness to participate in the creation of a multicultural society in Europe.
At the same time, Budapest and Banja Luka respect international law and agreements. Hungary complies with the obligations it undertook when it joined the European Union, while Republika Srpska respects the General Framework Agreement for Peace (the Dayton Agreement), which in 1995 made it an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina against its will. The West accuses Hungary and the RS of various fabricated crimes to put pressure on their governments. Hungary has been sanctioned several times for its sovereign policy, while Republika Srpska and its leadership are under sanctions, including those imposed by the United States and Germany. Brussels and Washington accuse Budapest and Banja Luka of maintaining close ties with Moscow, as if it were a serious political crime.
A New Round of Cooperation
These factors have brought the policies of Hungary and the RS closer together and strengthened their bilateral ties recently. The move toward more active cooperation started in 2019.
On June 18, Milorad Dodik, acting at the time as the Serb member of the BiH Presidency, held a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during his official visit to Budapest. It was then that Orbán expressed his intention to improve relations with Republika Srpska and emphasised the necessity to develop a plan to deepen cooperation in politics, economy, education, and culture. Orbán also stressed that the central government of BiH had no interest in collaboration and Budapest would focus on cooperation with Banja Luka. The Hungarian Prime Minister stated that it is vital to build strong and healthy relations between Hungarians and Serbs, so that they feel at home when visiting one another. These words were quoted by the Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet, which explained that “Bosnia and Herzegovina is composed of two highly autonomous entities… held together by a weak central government”. Such an explanation rarely appears in foreign media, which shows Hungarian political honesty.
Republika Srpska openly states that it has no intention to join NATO due to its military neutrality declared in October 2017 by the members of the National Assembly, although it remains committed to joining the European Union. Banja Luka is also interested in having a reliable partner and ally within the EU.
Hungary’s attention to Republika Srpska is only growing, which is reflected in the frequent meetings of representatives of both nations – a trend that has especially intensified since the second half of 2021.
Participants of these meetings have not only included the leaders but also other high-ranking officials, such as Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, Minister for National Economy Márton Nagy, the Serb member of the BiH Presidency Željka Cvijanović, the RS Prime Minister Radovan Višković, and the RS Minister for Higher Education Željko Budimir.
The first meeting after the COVID-19 pandemic took place on November 6, 2021. Milorad Dodik (then the Serb member of the Presidency of BiH) and RS Prime Minister Radovan Višković welcomed their Hungarian counterparts – Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó – at the Banja Luka International Airport. The friendly visit, as it was described in the mass media at the time, continued with informal talks in the town of Laktaši. The visit showed that the hosts view the Hungarians not only as political allies but also as true friends.
In 2023 and 2024, meetings between the Hungarian and RS leaders became more frequent. On June 23, 2023, in Banja Luka, President Milorad Dodik welcomed a Hungarian delegation led by Viktor Orbán.
In honor of the event, the streets of Banja Luka were decorated with Hungarian and RS flags. A large banner, featuring a greeting to Viktor Orbán from the RS President in both Serbian and Hungarian, was put up outside the RS Government Administrative Centre in Kralja Petra Street. Never before had a foreign politician received such a grand welcome in Banja Luka.
It was also unusual that after the official talks, Viktor Orbán and Milorad Dodik took a walk through the city together. During the walk, the Hungarian Prime Minister got acquainted with the centre of Banja Luka and its history. The visit resulted in the signing of a Joint Declaration on Cooperation between Republika Srpska and Hungary.
During this meeting, the Hungarian side expressed its readiness to increase investments not only in the RS agriculture but also in its power industry. The Hungarian company Lugos Renewables acquired the Trebinje 1 solar power plant situated near the city of Trebinje in the south of Republika Srpska. The number of such projects grew in June 2023, with many being facilitated by the Progressus Foundation, which supports the development of Republika Srpska. It was established by the Hungarian Government following its delegation’s visit to the RS in November 2021, and by the end of 2022, the aid to Republika Srpska had exceeded 200 million Convertible Marks (KM)[1]. It is worth noting that such foundations typically operate only in countries where Hungarians constitute a significant national minority. According to the 2013 census (verified by the Republican Institute of Statistics), only 166 Hungarians with the citizenship of Republika Srpska/Bosnia and Herzegovina lived in the RS.
In addition, up to 2024, Hungary managed several times to block the EU sanctions against Republika Srpska, which was reported by various media organizations, particularly pro-Western and opposition broadcasters like DW. Hungarian politicians have consistently emphasized the importance of sovereignty, insisting that significant decisions in the RS and BiH should be made without foreign interference.
The next meeting was held in Budapest in early October 2023. Hungary expressed its intention to increase investments in the RS, stating that Hungarian companies are interested in the financial, energy, and telecommunications sectors of the RS and BiH economy. During the visit, the parties agreed to hold a new large-scale meeting in Banja Luka.
It took place on April 5, 2024, and remains the most significant meeting between representatives of the RS and Hungary to date. The Palace of the Republic, the residence of the President of Republika Srpska in the city centre, was illuminated in the colours of the Hungarian flag. This is the way Banja Luka frequently expresses its respect for other nations, including the Russian Federation, Serbia, and Hungary. Once again, the streets of Banja Luka were decorated with flags of Hungary and the RS, along with a welcome banner in the two languages in honour of the Hungarian Prime Minister. The news this time was that Hungarian flags were flown alongside those of Republika Srpska on the flagpoles in front of the RS Government Administrative Centre. This was the first time a foreign delegation had been received with such distinction. The hotel hosting the Hungarian delegation displayed a large banner with the words: ‘“Bizonyított és igaz barátainknak”, which translates as “To our proven and true friends”.
The meeting demonstrated how much the cooperation between Hungary and the RS had advanced since 2019. In addition to the Prime Minister, the Hungarian delegation in Banja Luka included the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, Minister for National Economy Márton Nagy, and a large number of Hungarian entrepreneurs. Following the negotiations, RS President Milorad Dodik presented Viktor Orbán with the highest republican award – the Order of Republika Srpska on Necklace – for exceptional merit in developing and strengthening political relations and for the support in the struggle to preserve Republika Srpska. Orbán underlined again the importance of the Serbian political opinion on many issues within Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union, as well as the necessity to take it into account when shaping a new world order. He noted that Hungary strives for the EU expansion to the south rather than to the east, which politicians in Brussels seek aiming to destabilize the continent.
The official talks were followed by the “Republika Srpska – Hungary” Economic Forum. Around 100 entrepreneurs from both countries participated in the forum. The Hungarian delegation shared its expertise to facilitate the improvement of the RS economy. Viktor Orbán emphasized that economic stability can only be achieved if the state union remains decentralized. The forum participants discussed opportunities for cooperation in power and food industries, water supply facilities, metallurgy, financial sector, and construction (including road construction). Plans were announced to link Banja Luka and Budapest by a direct motorway once the Croatian section to the southern Hungarian border has been finished.
The participants noted that since Germany imposed economic sanctions against the RS and several German companies left the country in 2023, Hungary has increased its trade turnover with the RS to 300 million KM. The country holds the ninth position in foreign trade volume with Republika Srpska. Taking advantage of the emerging opportunities, Hungarian companies have replaced German ones in the RS market. Hungary has implemented several projects to aid farmers, established an “electric community” with the RS, and participated in the construction of another solar power plant in Herzegovina as well as a sewage system in Gradiška.
At the meeting, Milorad Dodik announced that in the near future, RS universities would offer Hungarian language courses, so that the people of Republika Srpska could better understand Hungarians. These initiatives would foster people-to-people and cultural diplomacy, helping to establish connections and dialogue between the two nations that were interrupted by the two world wars and the rift between the socialist regimes of Yugoslavia and Hungary.
Shortly after the April meeting, Republika Srpska faced a recurring international political challenge – politicization of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. Under these circumstances, Hungary maintained its political course. At the UN General Assembly session on May 23, 2024, Hungary’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade denounced the political humiliation of Serbs and Republika Srpska. Hungary not only supported the Serbian people but also showed that, even within the EU and NATO, it opposes the segregation and demonization of small nations – a course often taken by the neoliberal West. At the same time, the two countries signed a “Memorandum of Understanding between Republika Srpska and Hungary on Cooperation in the Application of Modern Technology in Healthcare”.
May 2024 was marked by another exciting example of cooperation between Hungary and the RS. The Bratunac repair plant which had been producing “Despot” and “Vihor” special-purpose armoured vehicles for four years at the time, received an order from the UAE for two “Vihor” armoured vehicles. Bulgaria and a number of other NATO member states prohibited the overflight of the planes transporting the Serbian armoured vehicles, posing a significant challenge for the plant. The Hungarian government came to the rescue, offering to transport the armoured vehicles by truck to Budapest and then ship them to the UAE by plane. Thanks to the Hungarian assistance, the armoured vehicles were successfully delivered to the customer.
The most recent meeting between officials of Republika Srpska and Hungary took place on September 12, 2024, in Budapest. The talks during the meeting focused on the continuation of the ongoing Hungarian projects in Republika Srpska, as well as on the prospects for new ones. As in all their meetings, the leaders of the two countries emphasized that there are no issues in the relations between Republika Srpska and Hungary that could stand in the way of their cooperation and bilateral relations. During the meeting, plans were also made for a future visit by the Hungarian Minister of National Economy, Márton Nagy, to Banja Luka.
On September 13, 2024, “Glas Srpske” (The Voice of Republika Srpska), the largest newspaper in the RS, published an article titled “Дијалог умјесто лекција и санкција” (“Dialogue Instead of Lessons and Sanctions”) on its second page. In it, the newspaper characterized Hungary as a country committed to dialogue not only with the RS but also with other nations when discussing significant global issues, including the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. In the very next issue of the newspaper – specifically in the “Glas Plus” supplement – Viktor Orbán was named “Person of the Week”. The accompanying commentary said: “The Hungarian Prime Minister has once again demonstrated a high level of understanding of the situation in the Balkans and BiH, underlining that stability in the region is vital for stability in the EU“. Thus, Orbán strengthened Hungary’s reputation as the only political power in the European Union ready to pursue dialogue to preserve peace and stability. And then, on September 16, the newspaper published an article, in which Minister Željko Budimir emphasized that Hungary supports the integration of Western Balkan countries into the EU.
Potential of Bilateral Relations
Hungary’s political principles are crucial for the RS, especially now when both nations face heavy pressure from the West.
Both capitals advocate dialogue and believe that negotiations are the only way to resolve the political challenges faced by both Serbs in the RS and Hungarians. That is why, for Banja Luka, political Budapest has become a new hope for a European future – despite the inevitable shift of the RS and Hungary toward the political East and the BRICS nations. The RS and Hungary’s leaders are attempting to openly defend their own nations and the future of their families, children, and youth. Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party have done a lot for the future of the country since 2010. Milorad Dodik and his SNSD are striving to do the same for the RS.
The dialogue and mutual understanding between the two European leaders draw ire from opposition, neoliberal, and pro-Western media in both the RS and Hungary (including index.hu, BBC, Euronews, N1 BiH, Slobodna Bosna, Deutsche Welle, BN TV, and others). They portray both governments – in Budapest and Banja Luka – as authoritarian and dictatorial, claiming they are attempting to dismantle the opposition in their countries. The very publication of such articles indicates that the actual state of affairs is not at all as these media outlets present it.
However, this external pressure does not stand in the way of the development of relations between the two countries. Budapest’s and Banja Luka’s policies of dialogue and exchange of experience have achieved far more than any analyst could have imagined five years ago. Yet, the peak of their relationship is still ahead. Most importantly, Budapest and Banja Luka view each other not as potential competitors, but as partners and allies. Apart from dialogue and mutual understanding, these relations are built on mutual respect. Thus, a giant leap has been made toward bringing Serbs and Hungarians closer together.
[1] The Hungarian fund in Republika Srpska will have 100 million euros in grants at its disposal. – Glas Srpske, November 15, 2011.
