Will Hungary reclaim territory from Ukraine? Romanian politician’s plan shocks Europe!
Călin Georgescu, the winner of the first round of the Romanian presidential elections, has been in the spotlight for his nationalist and far-right views. One of the main elements of his programme is territorial revision, which would see parts of Ukraine annexed to Romania, Hungary and Poland. He believes that the current Ukrainian state is artificial and that its partition is inevitable.
In an interview, Georgescu said that the geopolitical situation would also change the borders. In this context, he mentioned Northern Bukovina and the Buzac region as areas of natural interest for Romania. According to Krónika Online, the politician would also lay claim to certain parts of Maramures and Transcarpathia, which were historically part of the Kingdom of Hungary.
The question of revision
Georgescu’s plans are not without precedent as revisionist ideas. Diana Șoșoacă, another Romanian far-right politician, had earlier tabled a bill calling for the reclamation of former Romanian territories in Ukraine. Her ideas also went beyond Romania’s current borders and would have extended as far as northern Maramures.
The ideas of the Romanian nationalist movements coincide surprisingly with the statements of certain Russian political actors. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, has repeatedly stated that the partition of Ukraine is inevitable. According to him, Poland, Hungary and Romania are all seeking to regain their former territories. According to Medvedev, this scenario would be preferable to Moscow than Ukraine’s accession to NATO, which would pose a strategic threat to Russia.
The spread of revisionist ideas could threaten the stability not only of Ukraine but of the whole region. Although Georgescu and his associates are for the time being speaking only at the level of political declarations about their territorial claims, such rhetoric could lead to serious diplomatic tensions in the long term. The question is to what extent these ideas will remain at the rhetorical level of far-right circles and how far they can gain real political influence.
The arguments of revisionist politicians are based on the fact that these territories have changed hands several times in history. The northern part of Maramures, for example, was part of Hungary until the Treaty of Trianon, then became part of Czechoslovakia and later the Soviet Union. Since independence in 1991, Ukraine has held the territory, but far-right Romanian politicians say this is only a temporary situation.
The Hungarian and Polish perspectives
Interestingly, Georgescu described his own ideas as “generous”, because he believed that some of the territories would go to Hungary, while others would remain with Poland. In the case of Transcarpathia, the politician pointed out that the territory would not only belong to Romania but that some parts could also be returned to Hungary. However, he referred to the rest of Ukraine as Russia’s “Little Russia”, a clear reference to the Russian imperial narrative.
Georgescu and politicians like him are projecting geopolitical transformations that would fundamentally change the map of Eastern Europe. Although the historical past and national sentiments are often used as political tools, the current international legal order does not support such revisionist aspirations. At the same time, the instability caused by war and the intertwining of great power interests mean that further territorial disputes and conflicts in the region cannot be ruled out in the near future.
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