Budapest, February 2 (MTI) – Opposition Socialist deputy leader and MEP István Újhelyi called on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Tuesday to give details of any backroom deal he may have made with British Premier David Cameron.
A first “working document of compromises” has been issued which is expected to represent the basis of a potential agreement between the European Union and Britain, Újhelyi said in a statement. “Some points of this document, such as the withdrawal of jobseekers’ allowance, is completely unacceptable from Hungary’s point of view,” he added.
At the next European Council meeting, Orbán will have “an obligation to protect, by all possible means, the interests of European employers, including the rights and justifiable interests of several hundreds of thousands of Hungarians”, Újhelyi said. The EU should seek compromises and the consent of its members, he added.
The leftist opposition Democratic Coalition called on Orbán not to support any initiative that may hamper the rights of Hungarians working in Britain or restrict their access to social benefits. MEP Csaba Molnár said his party considers it “unacceptable” that an EU member state threatening to leave the bloc “is trying to force its will” onto the other member states. “In Europe this is called blackmail,” Molnár said referring to Britain’s demands of EU reform.
The opposition Dialogue for Hungary (PM) party said that should Orbán “fail to take action” after the release of the working document, he would be giving up on representing the interests of Hungarians working in other EU countries and in the process violate his oath of office. Bence Tordai, the party’s spokesman, said Orbán had “betrayed” Hungarians “fleeing from the Fidesz regime” when he “surrendered” to Cameron at their meeting in January.
President of the European Council Donald Tusk issued on Tuesday a package of proposals for EU regulatory reforms based on talks with the British government. Member states will be expected to decide on recommendations at an EU summit in the second half of February.
Photo: MTI
Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters
3 comments
I am English and I cannot claim benefits abroad !
I worked in France paid my taxes etc and still could not claim benefits !
They left you running round in circles and still no benefit !
Just so you would give up trying !
Friends who have travelled to other countries in Europe find it hard to claim benefits too.
i think if you was born in Europe you should be able to move around and claim something in other European countries , if you where not born in the countries of the European Union you shouldn’t get anything at all .
There is no proposal to limit access to jobseeker’s allowance, which is open to all who have entered insured employment. The proposal concerns in-work tax allowances, and seeks to correct anomalies in the system which favour migrant workers with families resident in their home countries at the expense of British workers. The ‘socialists’ should get their facts straight and then show greater understanding and solidarity. How would Hungarians feel if they were paying for allowances for British families with only one parent actually resident and working in Hungary?
I am a Canadian and a Hungarian (Dual Citizen), and i agree with Andrew that if your family is not with you being supported by you in the country your working and living at. The rest of your family is supporting itself elsewhere, and that should not lie on the host country.
I wonder who these people are that are doing this, as i know Hungarians and Pols don’t have the time to figure out how to screw community services. It’s like trying to rip off insurance companies, it’ll work for so long, no free ride. You’ll get screwed back eventually. I think Orban and Cameron will get by this soon. Brits and common Europeans have worked hard and fair, and their skill level tops many in the world.