Péter Magyar said he will meet Volodymyr Zelensky in Brussels, with another meeting in Berehove possible later this fall, and called Ukraine’s new minority-language education law a historic breakthrough. He also welcomed the end of the 2022 conditionality procedure, worth 4.2 billion euros, and is negotiating to end a daily fine he says has cost Hungary roughly one billion euros.

In politics, as in business, nothing is ever truly final. Many thought the rift between Elon Musk and Donald Trump was permanent, especially after Musk posted a virulent accusation on X in early June 2025. "Time to drop the really big bomb: realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files," he wrote, tagging Trump's X account. "That's the real reason they haven't been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!" The message came just after the Tesla and SpaceX founder had slammed the door on the Trump administration, where he had tried to slash public spending through the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.

Trump was indeed mentioned in the "Epstein files," as would later be revealed when the Department of Justice published a trove of documents from the investigations into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But Musk's post was quickly deleted and, 16 months later, all appears to be forgiven – or nearly so. On September 29, Musk returned to the White House for a tech summit, where he sat to the left of the US president. A major investor in China with Tesla, Musk was also seated at the head table just five days earlier during the White House state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping. And on October 8, Musk received the National Medal of Science, the highest scientific distinction in the US, from Trump himself.

What Musk failed to mention on his X account, which has 241 million followers, is that he is also still active in politics – albeit with his checkbook. As revealed by a New York Times investigation on October 12, the world's richest man, with a fortune estimated by Bloomberg at $966 billion, has already invested more than $366 million campaigning for the midterms, scheduled for November 3. His goal: to prevent the Senate from flipping to the Democrats and, in particular, to stop the victory of one of them – James Talarico, in Texas, where Elon Musk has based most of his financial interests, including SpaceX and Tesla.

The Democratic candidate vanished from public view for 10 days, sparking an unfounded rumor – spread by MAGA networks – about a supposed secret psychiatric hospitalization in Ohio, which the hospital in question has denied. Musk was quick to fan the flames. "The Talarico campaign is hiding something big that voters ought to know about," Musk wrote in a response to X user Eric Daugherty on October 11.

Interests to protect

Musk appears intent on quietly taking the place of the Koch brothers, the billionaire industrialists who made and unmade midwestern Republican candidates in the 2010s. His foray into this arena is something of a surprise after previous stinging defeats, including failing to prevent a Democrat from winning a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, despite pouring tens of millions of dollars into the race. "I'm going to do a lot less in the future," he told Bloomberg in May 2025, during the Qatar Economic Forum. "I think I've done enough."

Since then, Musk, who once considered launching his own party, has toed the line, sensing that breaking from the Republican-Democrat duopoly is near impossible. Born in South Africa, Musk is unable to launch a personal bid for the US presidency, but he has a great deal at stake, notably in tech, space, and artificial intelligence. The billionaire needs government contracts in aerospace, but above all, he needs a host of permits to launch his satellites, develop autonomous vehicles, run his data centers, and conquer the telecoms market.

Musk has tried to straddle the line between business and politics. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth appointed Musk to co-lead a task force on the future of warfare, along with Palmer Luckey, founder of the defense firm Anduril, and former Republican speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.

Trump and Musk once again find themselves politically aligned, but also – increasingly – internationally aligned. With Trump announcing a deal to import Russian diesel and urging the Ukrainian president to organize elections and stop bombing Russian energy infrastructure, Musk appears to have followed suit with his Starlink and Starshield satellites, which have had their speeds throttled and capped at 160 kilometers per hour, hampering the effectiveness of Ukrainian drones. "I am sure they knew what they did, absolutely," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "It's a big mistake."

A 'genius' and a 'titan'

On Wednesday, former Ukrainian defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote on X, "Starlink connectivity at speeds of up to 160 km/h is being restored. Removing Starshield’s speed limit entirely is now critical for Ukraine’s defense. Thank you, elonmusk. We hope for your continued support." But Musk deflected, replying: "Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS."

Under Biden, Musk was accused of not activating satellites that would have enabled a Ukrainian offensive in Crimea. The decision was made in close consultation with the White House, following direct discussions with Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and chairman of the joint chiefs staff, General Mark Milley.

The controversies now seem long forgotten. Musk's efforts to cut spending produced no real financial effect, except for destroying the US Agency for International Development and eliminating 300,000 jobs. The Supreme Court will review access to DOGE's classified archives. But for Trump's circle, all of that is ancient history.

As a sign of their reconciliation, Trump praised the entrepreneur while presenting him the National Medal of Science on October 8: "Elon is our modern-day Thomas Edison," he said. "Elon, I want to congratulate you. You're my friend and all of that. But you are a very, very special guy. Thank you very much, and congratulations, Elon." "Quite honestly, there’s nobody like him," Trump continued. "Few Americans in history have done more to advance America’s national interest."

The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Orbán government’s 2022 limits on teachers’ right to strike were unlawful and disproportionate. The decree forced schools to hold classes during strikes. Education Minister Judit Lannert said the ruling backed her ministry’s move to ease the rules.

Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest with assets of more than €2 trillion, may once again be allowed to invest in firms that make nuclear weapons under a proposal published on Thursday.

The EU and Moldova have opened accession negotiations on two policy clusters covering the internal market and competitiveness and inclusive growth.