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Who would have believed, just a few short months ago. that Andrej Babis would become the new Czech Minister of Finance? This talented entrepreneur, who made his fortune in chemicals and agribusiness before setting his sights on the media industry (he controls the country's leading dailies as well as several TV stations), is a newcomer on the political scene. His ANO (Action of Dissatisfied Citizens) movement, founded in 2012, scored a surprising breakthrough with 19% of the votes in the parliamentary elections last October. He ended a close second to the Social Democrats, with whom he formed a coalition. Andrej Babis lambastes the powerlessness and corruption of the Czech political class and contrasts it with the entrepreneurial management model, of which he is one of the post-Communist world's most shining examples. He is set on applying the same recipes to the country's finances that made him the second wealthiest man in the Czech Republic. Now let's see if his approach works. Adapted from the source document.

It's been two years now that blustering Viktor Orban has retaken the reins of the Hungarian government, which he headed from 1998 to 2002. But this time things are different. His party, Fidesz, won a large majority in the 2010 elections, giving it a free hand to impose its program of radical changes. Hungarian institutions are undergoing a total revamp, including election procedures, the balance of power between the executive, legislative and judicial branches, relations between church and state, media and government, and local communities and the central power. All of these changes are written down in the new constitution, which took effect on January 1, 2012. The unspoken aim is to make it very difficult, or even impossible, for another change in power. This "revolution at the voting urn" did not fail to provoke an angry response from European authorities, who deemed it, on certain points, incompatible with the EU's fundamental values. An infringement procedure is under way-stay tuned for further developments. Adapted from the source document.

Without a federal government since April 2010, Belgium is experiencing seemingly insurmountable rifts. It is not impossible that a compromise may eventually be found, allowing for the formation of a government led by Elio Di Rupo, President of the Francophone Socialist Party. However, whatever the outcome of this crisis, there are certain centrifugal forces, fuelled by the intransigence of the Flemish separatists and their charismatic leader Bart De Wever, that will continue to undermine the foundations of the Kingdom. A partition of the country would lead to great uncertainty: Should Flanders, having become independent beside a "preserved" Belgium in Wallonia and Brussels, be subjected to a membership process, like any new country wishing to join the European Union? Can Brussels maintain its status of Triple Capital -- of Belgium, Flanders and the EU? The scenario is completely new, in any case, and is likely to subject the institutions of our Old Continent to a sort of trial by fire. Adapted from the source document.

Parliamentary member from the Hungarian Jobbik Party ("Movement for a Better Hungary") since 2010, Marton Gyongyosi represents the far-right faction on the Parliament's foreign affairs committee, of which he is also vice chairman. In this interview with Luc Rosenzweig, Gyongyosi expounds on his party's controversial views. After winning 16.67% of the vote in Hungary's recent national elections, Jobbik took 47 of the 386 parliamentary seats. Though not part of the ruling coalition led by Viktor Orban, Jobbik nevertheless acts as a stimulus, urging the government parties to adopt an increasingly prickly form of nationalism. Unlike its far-right counterparts in Europe, the party has not made immigration the central focus of its propaganda. However, its anti-Semitic rhetoric and open hostility toward the country's 600,000-strong Roma population make it a spiritual descendant of the Hungarian fascist movements that were active before and during the Second World War. Adapted from the source document.

With no federal government for over a year now, the Belgian state is crumbling more and more with each passing day. King Albert II has therefore appointed Elio Di Rupo, leader of the francophone Socialist party, as "formateur" -- making him, in effect, a virtual prime minister charged with resolving the country's institutional crisis. Is Mr. Di Rupo Belgium's last chance for survival? One thing is certain: the "formateur" will have to square the circle of reconciling the interests of his Walloon compatriots, the majority of whom wish to maintain a united Belgium, with the aspirations of the Flemish, who demand ever greater autonomy, even if this endangers state unity. In this exclusive interview, the Walloon leader does not shy from the magnitude of the task ahead and reveals some of the strategies he will deploy to meet the challenge. Mr. Di Rupo believes in maintaining Belgian unity, but not at any cost, and warns that if Flanders decides to declare independence, the Walloons and residents of Brussels should not be afraid to take their own destiny in hand. Adapted from the source document.

In this exclusive interview with Luc Rosenzweig, the Hungarian foreign affairs minister Janos Martonyi details his stance on several issues which have recently made headlines across Europe. Just as Hungary was about to assume the EU's rotating presidency, Budapest kicked up a storm on two fronts, first with a new law on the media, which in some regards harks back to the dark old days of the former "people's democracy", and then with a "citizenship law", which provoked outrage in neighboring Slovakia. Eager to defuse tensions, Janos Martonyi reiterates the values of tolerance and democracy which underpin the Orban government's actions. As a government minister, Martonyi intends to put these principles to work to deal with the Roma issue, one of Hungary's priorities during its presidency of the European Union. But the main concern is the country's economic troubles: after teetering on the brink of bankruptcy in 2007, Hungary is slowly recovering, but it is still a long way from being able to make a credible application to join the euro zone. Adapted from the source document.

Herman Van Rompuy was named to the newly created position of permanent President of the European Council in December 2009. Little known internationally-and even in Europe-the former Belgian prime minister has since made a name for himself. In this exclusive interview he shows quite a different side than the somewhat bland image often painted in the media. With considerable candor, he looks back at his first year in office, marked by efforts to contain the economic crisis that nearly brought several EU states to financial collapse, starting with Greece. He goes on to explain how he shares responsibilities with EU High Representative for Foreign Affaires Catherine Ashton and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. He offers sincere and unrehearsed answers to many other pertinent questions, including the European Union's relations with the United States under Barack Obama, and with Russia guided by Messrs Medvedev and Putin. The interview also touches on new plans to expand the EU, the Franco-German tandem and other issues, providing both insights and food for thought. Adapted from the source document.

Bronislaw Komorowski, a committed free-marketer and former opponent of the communist regime, was propelled to the presidency of Poland under tragic circumstances: as speaker of parliament, he became interim leader following the plane crash on April 10, 2010 that killed the incumbent, Lech Kaczynski. Three months later, he won the presidential election. As Warsaw takes over the EU's rotating presidency for the next six months, Mr. Komorowski chose Politique Internationale to present his vision of Europe and in particular Poland's role in the region. Poland faces a number of challenges, including strengthening economic governance, working toward a common European defense and security policy, and establishing a unified EU position on the Arab Spring, the conflict between Israel and Palestine, and Russia. Adapted from the source document.

The Czech presidency of the European Union has kicked off in an atmosphere of mutual mistrust between Brussels & Prague. It is true that the outsized personality & thunderous declarations of President Vaclav Klaus, known for his hostility to European institutions & his abhorrence of ecologists, do not really help matters. Although the Czech Constitution accords him few powers, he is nonetheless the master of the situation. He has reigned over the Czech political scene for nearly twenty years and, despite the economic crisis, does not disown his ultra-free-market beliefs. His prime minister Mirek Topolanek, with whom he has had stormy relations although they belong to the same party, has a hard time making his voice heard. Paradoxically, the Czech Republic is, along with Ireland who voted against it, the last of the twenty-seven members who haven't ratified the Lisbon treaty. A sign of reluctance that doesn't put the country in a solid position to take the reins of the EU. Adapted from the source document.