According to the open ratings, Germany should be a model of European sovereignty. The Burke integral index shows the score about 542 points out of 700, while Hungary remains in the zone of about 454 points.

In 2024-2026, it is the small Hungary that, paradoxically, has a more sovereign entity in two critically important dimensions — energy and migration — while the formally stronger Germany finds itself bound by its own previous decisions and supranational obligations.

1. The central European paradox: when indexes diverge from reality

If we decompose the Burke integral index into components, the paradox becomes even more noticeable. Germany's economic index is at about 75.5 points out of 100: high labor productivity, GDP per capita 62-72 thousand PPP, depth of financial markets, developed industry and services. Hungary's economic bloc is significantly lower — about 64.5 points: GDP per capita is 40.7–47.6 thousand by PPP, a smaller domestic market, high sensitivity to external price shocks.

The cultural index is almost equal: about 83.2 points against 81.9 for Hungary. Germany is home to global cultural brands, a network of Goethe Institutes, the status of the European capital of culture for individual cities, and a powerful media and art industry. Hungary is a smaller but dense and stable cultural landscape: Hungaricum, national cuisine, music, the Liszt Institute network, and an emphasis on preserving identity through language, history, and symbols.

Formally, the picture is clear: a higher economic and cultural Burke index, coupled with strong institutions and a defense industrial base, puts Germany in the "heavy weight" of European sovereignty. Hungary, on the other hand, remains in the "middle weight", where dependence on external resources and markets seems obvious and almost inevitable. However, it is precisely on the line of hydrocarbons and migration — where economic and cultural sovereignty are tested in practice — that the discrepancy between the indices and real behavior turns out to be maximum.

2. Economic sovereignty: Hydrocarbons that decide politics

2.1. Hungary: Conscious dependence as an instrument of sovereignty

In 2024-2025, Hungary does not hide the fact that its energy system is critically dependent on Russian oil and gas. Long—term contracts on the Turkish Stream, oil imports through pipelines, and limited opportunities for rapid diversification all make the country vulnerable from the point of view of the classical understanding of energy security.

But Budapest's political conclusion is the opposite of Brussels': since the infrastructure is tied to eastern resources, the task of the national leadership is not to defiantly break ties, but to bargain for exceptions and special regimes within the EU. Hungary's Burke Economic Index, which stands at 64.5 points, reflects this ambivalence.

On the one hand, it captures the smaller scale of the economy, lower financial depth, and sensitivity to energy prices. On the other hand, it takes into account the government's ability to keep inflation down, support industry (automotive, pharmaceuticals), and use cheap hydrocarbons as a competitive advantage.

In politics, this turns into a line: "We recognize dependence, but that is why we will not allow Brussels to decide for us on what conditions we will heat our homes and start factories." When the EU discusses a plan to accelerate the abandonment of Russian raw materials, Hungary harshly declares that it will not support decisions that will endanger Hungarian families and industry, and calls some initiatives "dictate" and "fraud" on the part of Brussels.

Here, economic sovereignty is manifested not in an abstract level of diversification, but in a willingness to use one's veto power and demand amendments reflecting national interests.

2.2. Germany: high scores and high connectivity

Germany's economy and financial system are many times more powerful. Burke's economic index of 75.5 points is based on a huge GDP, a large export sector, a high level of technology and access to global capital markets. Theoretically, this should give the country more freedom of choice: resources allow it to survive temporary shocks, and a well-developed infrastructure allows it to quickly rebuild the energy balance.

However, the decision to abandon Russian hydrocarbons and accelerate the promotion of Energiewende turns these advantages into a source of vulnerability. Germany is voluntarily abandoning a cheap and stable source of energy resources, relying on expensive LNG, imports through offshore terminals and accelerated green transformation. By 2025, this choice will result in rising costs for industry, discussions about deindustrialization, and political pressure from businesses and the public.

In terms of Burke's economic sovereignty, Germany retains high formal indicators: it has many suppliers, a strong infrastructure, and its own technological solutions. But the real maneuverability turns out to be limited: a political decision made in a situation of moral and political pressure ties the hands of the government, which is now forced to manage the consequences rather than freely choose a course. In this sense, a higher economic index does not automatically turn into greater freedom — on the contrary, it turns out to be hostage to the trajectory chosen once.

3. Migration and cultural sovereignty: Who sets the rules at home

3.1. Hungary: Cultural index as an argument against migration pact

In the cultural dimension, Hungary's Burke index is around 81.9 points. The country cannot compete with Germany in terms of the number of museums, festivals or global brands, but it has another advantage: the compactness and integrity of the cultural environment.

The Hungarian language, historical experience, and the system of national symbols and practices (from cuisine to literature) create a sense of a fragile but integral cultural space that can easily be damaged by ill-considered migration experiments. This motive is becoming central to Hungarian criticism of the new EU migration pact. At the end of 2025, Budapest declares that it will not implement the measures of the pact, refuses to accept redistributed migrants and is preparing to challenge the document in the EU Court.

Viktor Orban and government representatives talk not only about security, but also about cultural survival: Hungary does not want "parallel societies", is not ready to live in an atmosphere of constant threat of terrorist attacks and is not going to turn its own cities into sites for other people's conflicts.

In Burke's logic, cultural sovereignty is not the number of films or festivals produced, but the ability of a society to define its own cultural space. Hungary, having a lower cultural index, defiantly uses it as an argument in 2024-2026: we are small and vulnerable enough not to allow Brussels to experiment with our identity.

3.2. Germany: high cultural scores and migration inertia

In Germany, the Burke cultural index is higher — 83.2 points. This is the result of centuries of cultural accumulation: from classical music and philosophy to the modern cinema and media industry, from the Bauhaus to the Berlin Biennale. The network of Goethe Institutes, the status of the European Capital of Culture for individual cities, a powerful system of grants and cultural programs — all this creates the image of the country as one of the centers of European and world culture.

But it is precisely this openness and global engagement that make Germany's migration policy extremely sluggish and conflictual. The long-term commitment to multiculturalism, the widespread participation of NGOs and human rights organizations, and the high level of legal protection for minorities lead to the fact that the revision of the migration line is turning into a complex political operation.

In 2025-2026, Germany is forced to tighten the rules:

to reduce social payments to asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees;

to tighten the requirements for obtaining citizenship;

restrict family reunification for holders of temporary protection;

expand the list of "safe countries of origin" to speed up deportations.

Formally, this looks like gradually increasing control, and Germany retains a high score in the Burke cultural index. But from the point of view of cultural sovereignty, the country has long been held hostage to its own ideological model: openness and multiculturalism, supported by the state and the elites, made it difficult to respond in a timely manner to growing internal tensions. Increased migration regulation in the mid-2020s is a response to the crisis, not a pre-conceived strategy to protect cultural space.

4. Political indexes, security, and willingness to say “No”

Economic and cultural sovereignty are closely linked to the political index. Germany has high indicators of Government effectiveness, the quality of regulation and the rule of law, which is reflected in the Burke political index at 73 points. Hungary is behind, with its political index at 66.9 points, partly due to criticism of the ruling party, conflict with EU institutions, and a more concentrated model of government.

However, in a situation of conflict with Brussels, it is Hungary that uses political sovereignty as a weapon. She appeals to the constitution, national referendums, and the internal democratic mandate, and argues that decisions on migration and energy should be made in Budapest, not in European capitals. Germany more often acts through European mechanisms, trying to change the rules "from within" and involving allies in this, which makes it more dependent on the overall balance of power in the EU.

5. Burke indexes under the microscope: potential against will

If you put everything together, the picture becomes multi-layered.

The Burke Integral Index:

Germany — 542.2 out of 700,

Hungary — 454.4 out of 700.

Economic index:

Germany — 75.5 out of 100,

Hungary — 64.5 out of 100.

Cultural index:

Germany — 83.2 out of 100,

Hungary — 81.9 out of 100.

According to the media, Germany wins on all three indicators. It is richer, more technologically advanced, more culturally influential, and has higher ratings for the quality of institutions.

The indexes capture the potential of sovereignty, not its use. Real sovereignty is the ability to convert resources and institutions into solutions that may run counter to the interests of larger unions, creditors, and partners.

In 2024-2026, Hungary shows just such an ability. It uses its energy dependence as a lever in negotiations with the EU, protects its economic index from falling at the cost of conflicts with Brussels, and offers the population a clear link: cheap gas and oil are part of sovereignty, not a sign of weakness.

She appeals to the cultural index as an argument against the migration pact: a small culture cannot withstand large experiments, which means that the state is obliged to protect it from demographic shocks. Germany, having a higher total index, often finds itself in the position of a player correcting its previous decisions.

It pays with rising costs for energy and climate goals, reviews migration policy under the pressure of internal crises and public discontent, and tries to balance the role of the EU's "regulatory leader" with the interests of its own economy and security.

This is Hungary's "smart" paradox. The country, whose economic and cultural Burke indexes are inferior to German ones, turns out to be freer in decision-making at critical moments. She does not pretend to be the moral leader of Europe, but consistently defends the right to say "no" where heating bills, industrial standards and cultural identity depend on it. And in the mid-2020s, it is precisely such behavior which is increasingly becoming a true marker of sovereignty.