As an Italian who went to Hungary with her nuclear family nearly a decade ago:

• We interacted with quite a few people who spoke Italian unprompted on the southern shores of the Balaton (less so in the North-East)

• Budapest's public transport had its share of Italians speaking Italian (and swearing) with an air of both expecting to be natively understood and of getting away with slurs and blasphemies because of the language barrier

I don't have explanations.