State of the Union: Biden's NATO summit and Orban's self-declared peace mission

What a week this has been – and a bad week for nationalist and populist forces!

French voters produced a reverse shocker by keeping the far-right away from power in the second round of the snap legislative election.

On the European level, mushrooming far-right parliamentary groups are splintering the populist influence in the European Parliament.

And the self-declared herald of peace, nationalist Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, found out the hard way what little clout he has in the real world.

Just days into the six-month Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU, Orbán travelled to Moscow and Beijing on what he bombastically called a “peace mission” to end the war in Ukraine.

Not only did he come back empty-handed, but he was also read the riot act by the rest of the EU.

“No one has the right without Ukraine, and on behalf of Ukraine, to decide on the future peace and its shape," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who will take over the Council of the EU presidency in January, said.

"No one has the right to speak on behalf of Poland or the entire European Union without full agreement with Ukraine and with all of us when it comes to possible talks with Moscow. (…) I will also personally and effectively keep an eye on this in the European Union," he added.

Some member states are so angry at Budapest they now even want to shorten the Hungarian presidency. That doesn’t seem to go anywhere, but the first Hungary-chaired council meetings were snubbed by ministers who sent civil servants instead.

Hungary could feel its isolation even more at the NATO summit in Washington where US President Joe Biden had this to say about Orbán’s bosom friend Vladimir Putin.

“Putin wants nothing less, nothing less, than Ukraine’s total subjugation to end Ukraine’s democracy, destroy Ukraine and Ukraine’s culture and to wipe Ukraine off the map. And we know Putin won’t stop at Ukraine. But make no mistake: Ukraine can and will stop Putin," Biden said.

The Washington summit was meant to present a united front and show that in its 75th year, the alliance is as strong as ever. But it was overshadowed by a series of crises of which questions about President Biden’s fitness for office at 81 was probably the least of the problems.

'There are going to be big challenges for NATO'

So, what’s in store for NATO going forward? We spoke to Ian Lesser, executive director of the Brussels office of the German Marshall Fund.

Euronews: So, President Biden has called the alliance the most unified it has ever been. But behind the scenes, the mood was rather gloomy. What are the most important challenges for NATO going forward?

Lesser: Well, above all, even though this is the 75th anniversary and has in some sense a celebratory character to it, there is a war going on in Europe. There is an increasingly dangerous relationship with Russia. Also a very competitive relationship with China. But it's above all, it's about deterring and defending against Russia, but also providing Ukraine with what it needs to defend itself.

Euronews: NATO is trying to inoculate itself against the disruptions and crises that Donald Trump might instigate should he return, trying to make itself Trump-proof, so to speak. Can this actually work?

Lesser: Well, NATO's had some experience with this. Of course, we don't know what the outcome will be in Washington. But even if Biden is reelected, there are going to be big challenges for NATO, any American administration that is going to keep coming to Europe and asking Europe to spend more and do more. And of course, NATO has been doing some of that. But the challenges are very large and the requirements are very big. But, of course, that's a much more pointed issue. If Trump is reelected and there is some desire to try to put Europe in a more stable position in that regard.

Euronews: There is Trump, but there is also growing power of far-right forces unfriendly to NATO in Europe. How serious a problem is this for the alliance?

Lesser: Well, far right but also in some cases on the left, parties that are not always supportive of the transatlantic relationship. This too gives me a problem. It can be a problem in terms of policy towards Russia, support for Ukraine, defence spending. Many of the parties who are seeking power in Europe want to spend money on other things, on social programmes, at a time when defence is demanding more spending. And that requirement is probably going to go on for years. So, in a sense the stresses exist in a political way on both sides of the Atlantic.

Euronews: Finally, there is a new secretary general in town – is Mark Rutte the right man for steering NATO through stormy waters?

Lesser: Everything that is done at NATO, from the smallest to the largest thing, is done by consensus. And there are few things more important than choosing a secretary general in very difficult times. And so I think the fact that Mark Rutte was chosen with a great deal of support, it wasn't very controversial, says something about where the alliance wants to go and the degree of confidence in his leadership. But I think that's probably correct.