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Hungary urges EU to designate antifa as a ‘terrorist’ group

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto urges EU alignment with the US calling the anti-fascist group a ‘grave threat’.

Members of the Great Lakes anti-fascist organisation (antifa) fly flags during a protest [File: Stephanie Keith/Reuters]

By Usaid Siddiqui and News Agencies

Published On 20 Sep 202520 Sep 2025

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Hungary’s foreign minister demanded that the European Union classify antifa as a “terrorist” group, citing a series of incidents across Europe allegedly linked to the anti-fascist movement.

On Friday, Peter Szijjarto, in a post on X, released excerpts from a letter he sent to the EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas demanding action against antifa.

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“Individuals and groups linked to the so-called Antifa ideology have carried out numerous terrorist attacks across the European Union, including in Germany, France, and Italy,” he wrote.

“This violent far-left network has carried out brutal attacks across Europe, including in Budapest. To our great regret, suspects later avoided justice by finding refuge in EU states,” Szijjarto said.

Szijjarto highlighted the case of Italian Ilaria Salis, who he said “gained immunity after becoming an MEP”.

In February 2023, Salis was arrested with other activists in Budapest while taking part in a demonstration against an annual commemoration by neo-Nazis.

One year later, she was elected to the European Parliament, leading to the end of her house arrest in the Hungarian capital.

“These appalling acts illustrate beyond doubt that the Antifa movement constitutes a grave threat,” he asserted.

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The foreign minister cited US President Donald Trump’s recent move to label antifa as a “major terrorist organisation” as a reason Europe should take similar actions.

Szijjarto said that the government was “convinced that on such a crucial matter Europe must align its steps with the US, the leading force in the global fight against terrorism”.

During his first term, Trump also threatened to designate antifa a terrorist organisation in the wake of widespread protests across the US in response to the killing of unarmed Black man George Floyd in May 2020.

Antifa, short for “anti-fascists,” is not one unified group but rather a loosely connected, decentralised network of left-wing activists and organisations in the US that confront right-wing and fascist movements.