BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The head of the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen, on Sunday welcomed the defeat of Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban in legislative elections.

“Europe’s heart is beating stronger in Hungary tonight,” she posted on X, in English and in Hungarian.

“Hungary has chosen Europe. Europe has always chosen Hungary,” she added. “A country reclaims its European path. The Union grows stronger.”

Orban — a nationalist and self-described “thorn” in the EU’s side — was at constant loggerheads with most other members of the bloc, particularly over foreign policy issues, but also on rule-of-law.