Magyar chose Poland for his first foreign visit after his election win over Hungary’s long-time leader, Viktor Orban, a Kremlin-friendly nationalist who oversaw years of tensions with Tusk’s government.

“Through our daily work, we shall show that Hungary and Poland are one,” Tusk told a joint news conference with Magyar.

He vowed to “work together in Brussels on geopolitical issues and to defend our various common interests, because we have practically nothing but common interests”.

Magyar said Poland had much to teach Hungary about how to restore the rule of law, fight corruption and unblock EU funds.

Drawing parallels between the two leaders’ electoral wins over entrenched nationalist, authoritarian leaders, Magyar said his host in Warsaw “was also faced with similar problems”.

“And I am counting heavily on the experience of the prime minister of Poland,” he added.

Relations between Orban’s Hungary and Poland were poor after the 2023 election in Poland of pro-European Tusk, a firm ally of Ukraine.

Now Hungary’s new leader, Magyar, is counting on Tusk’s backing to try to recover billions of euros of EU funds frozen by Brussels as relations with Budapest deteriorated during Orban’s rule.

Piotr Serafin, the EU’s current budget commissioner, was Tusk’s chief of staff when Tusk was president of the European Commission between 2014 and 2019.

A delegation from the commission is expected in Budapest this week and Magyar hopes to finalise a deal with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen when he visits Brussels next Monday.