Coronavirus – Hungary would back fair EU recovery plan, says Minister Varga

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Hungary’s government urges the European Union to put together a fair coronavirus recovery package with flexible measures, Justice Minister Judit Varga said after a videoconference of the EU’s General Affairs Council on Tuesday.

According to a summary of Varga’s address to the meeting, she said the EU‘s multiannual financial framework and recovery fund “cannot leave anyone behind” if it is to win the backing of all member states.

This means that the package must first and foremost be fair and balanced, Varga said, adding that a declaration adopted by the Visegrad Group countries on the matter last week was a sound basis for this.

She said member states that pursued disciplined economic policies needed investments rather than structural reforms in order to make a quick recovery from the downturn caused by the epidemic.

The recovery of the CEE member states must be built on a strengthened cohesion policy “which has already proven effective in the past and created value added in Europe”, Varga said.