The European Union will award the European Order of Merit, its new highest honor, for the first time this year, reported Hirado.hu. The award recognizes individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to European integration and the protection of the EU’s fundamental values: respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, and the rule of law. Among the recipients is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Máté Kocsis, leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group, responded on his Facebook page to the news that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, alongside former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Polish President Lech WaÅ‚Ä™sa, will receive the European Union’s highest honor.
“The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, has announced that Volodymyr Zelenskyy will ‘naturally’ receive the highest honor, the European Order of Merit,” the politician shared with his followers.
“Well, who else would receive it if not the person who made death threats against the prime minister of one of the European Union member states, or the person who shut off the oil pipeline to a member state, causing an energy crisis, or the person who interfered in a country’s election campaign?” said the leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group.
“Of course he will get it, Zelensky will get it! Congratulations, Mr. President!” concluded Máté Kocsis.
MADNESS
@PM_ViktorOrban, blackmailed the Hungarian people with an oil blockade, and interfered in Hungary’s elections, the European Parliament awarded him the European Order of Merit.
Brussels may hand out medals, but Hungary… https://t.co/tHNgYyTS09
— Balázs Orbán (@BalazsOrban_HU) March 10, 2026
Balázs Orbán, the political director of the prime minister, expressed his disappointment on X regarding the decision:
After Zelensky issued deadly threats against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, blackmailed the Hungarian people with an oil blockade, and interfered in Hungary’s elections, the European Parliament awarded him the European Order of Merit. Brussels may hand out medals, but Hungary will answer by breaking the threats and blackmail and defeating his Hungarian puppet, Péter Magyar, in the upcoming April elections.
Hungarian MEPs Csaba Dömötör and Kinga Gál also criticized the decision, questioning how Zelensky’s actions align with the values cited in the award citation.
“The justification states that he worked for European integration and promoted European values. Threatening soldiers as a European value!” Csaba Dömötör stated in the video posted to his Facebook page.
The @Europarl_EN is using the newly created European Order of Merit to award Ukrainian President Zelensky, who threatened @PM_ViktorOrban, a democratically elected leader of an EU member state. This is incompatible with European values. For this reason, today’s decision is… https://t.co/cx5QhdB3tz
— Kinga Gál (@_KingaGal) March 10, 2026
“This is incompatible with European values. For this reason, today’s decision is completely unacceptable — another act in the EU’s political theater. The Patriots for Europe group decided already at the beginning of the nomination process to stay away from this theatre. The European Parliament is not even willing to follow its own rules and excludes the Patriots from positions that belong to them. The award process showed that it would not be transparent or democratic. A typical Brussels method,” Kinga Gál added.
My name is Anatolii Sharii – Ukrainian Journalist and Opposition Politician
I am the most-watched Ukrainian journalist and an opposition politician whose party was the first to be banned by Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
•3 million subscribers on YouTube
•1.5 million subscribers on…— Anatolij Sharij (@anatoliisharii) February 18, 2025
Anatoly Shariy, a Ukrainian journalist and opposition politician, wrote on X that Volodymyr Zelenskyy had personally ordered actions against him for criticizing the Ukrainian government, alleging assassination attempts, sanctions against his family, and a 15-year prison sentence, while condemning the European Union for awarding Zelenskyy its highest honor despite what he described as repression of opposition voices.
“Shame on the EU. You are no better than the Pope who blessed Hitler in Holocaust,” he concluded.
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