Krisztina Csibi, the candidate of the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance, won Sunday’s by-election in Tolna County’s 2nd electoral district, in south-western Hungary, with close to two-thirds of the vote.
Data published by the National Election Office with 99.12 percent of the votes counted shows Csibi with 11,913 votes, 63.7 percent of all votes cast. Dóra Dúró of opposition Mi Hazánk had 3,588 votes (19.18 percent) and László Takács of the opposition Democratic Coalition had 2,055 (10,99 percent). Independent candidate Gábor Harangozó had 437 votes (2.34 percent), independent Ernő Vilcsek 380 (2.03 percent) and Pál Péter Ágoston of the Second Reform Age party had 330 votes (1.76 percent).
The MP-elect Krisztina Csibi and PM Orbán. Photo: FB/Krisztina Csibi
The by-election was held to decide who takes up the parliamentary seat of Árpád János Potápi, who served as a Fidesz MP for Tolna County’s 2nd district and state secretary for policies for Hungarians across the borders when he died in October last year.
Opposition Jobbik lawmaker Koloman Brenner said on Wednesday that Hungarians should have the right to pick a president through direct election, and called for a comprehensive revamp of legislature.
He told a presser that the “current heated political atmosphere” had revealed that the president was unable to fulfil his tasks as enshrined in the constitution, which is to represent the unity of the Hungarian nation. He added that recent statements by President Tamás Sulyok had been “extremely partisan”. Jobbik is proposing a comprehensive revamp of public law, Brenner said. The current single-round election, “set up by Fidesz, a party with excessive powers,” secured the dominance of a single party in parliament, he said. In such a situation, a president elected by parliament “is practically guaranteed to be politically biased”, he said.
Jobbik has prepared a comprehensive legislative package based on Austrian and Czech examples, which includes the direct election of the president, the reintroduction of two-round elections and the requirement to finish 8-year primary education to obtain the right to vote, he said.
The Hungarian Parliament, one of the country’s most iconic buildings, is set to undergo a comprehensive renovation. Tamás Wachsler, head of the Steindl Imre Programme, outlined the project’s details in an interview with InfoRádió, highlighting the extensive preparatory phase and long-term goals of modernisation. The entire process could take up to ten years to complete.
Preparatory work begins
The initial two-year phase will involve detailed surveys and structural assessments to evaluate the current state of the Parliament building, Wachsler told InfoRádió. This includes creating an inventory of architectural elements and scientific documentation of the building’s construction history. Specialists will also produce models of decorative features to determine their suitability for restoration. At the end of this phase, a design tender will be announced, providing clarity on technical specifications and potential costs. Final decisions on these matters will rest with the government before the actual planning stage begins, estimated to take another two years.
Modernisation and energy efficiency
A key objective of the renovation is to modernise the Parliament’s outdated infrastructure. The heating system, operational for over 120 years, will be replaced alongside the entire water and pipe network. Cooling systems, currently limited to localised solutions, will also be integrated. “Comprehensive mechanical modernisation is essential,” emphasised Wachsler, citing energy efficiency as a priority. The renovations aim to restore the original spatial structure of the Parliament while addressing safety concerns, such as conducting all security checks outside the building.
New home for Munkácsy’s masterpiece
One notable aspect of the project is the relocation of Mihály Munkácsy’s monumental painting, The Conquest (A honfoglalás). Currently displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts, the artwork will not return to its original Parliament setting due to limited public access. Instead, it will be showcased in a specially designed gallery in the Ministry of Agriculture’s building, ensuring optimal lighting and climate conditions for preservation.
A decade-long commitment
The Parliament’s reconstruction will require multiple government decisions at key milestones, including budgeting and contractor selection. Once these are finalised, lawmakers will temporarily relocate to the Ministry of Agriculture during the estimated four-year construction phase. While the full scope and timeline of the project remain subject to further planning and approvals, the initiative promises a modernised and more accessible Parliament, preserving its historic significance for future generations.
The National Judicial Council (OBT) has elected Csaba Pecsenye as its head for a three-year term, the body said on Thursday.
Csaba Pecsenye appointed
Ahead of the meeting on Wednesday, the OBT received a letter from representatives of the Hungarian Judicial Association and the Res Iudicata Association protesting against the appointment, the statement said.
In response to several comments that the agreement “lacked legal grounding” and that the OBT had no mandate from judges to enter into an agreement, Pecsenye said the payment of judges and judicial employees, the preparation of legislation in connection with the judicial system, as well as opinions on relevant legislation was under the purview of the directing bodies of the judiciary, and so the agreement was compliant with the Fundamental Law and the law on the organisation and management of courts, Pecsenye said.
“The agreement itself doesn’t harm judges’ independence, although legislation as a means to achieve a certain goal does carry the danger that legislation harms judicial independence,” he said.
Commenting on the letter after a council discussion on the judges’ proposals on the agreement, Pecsenye said the decision was not “an insult to the honour of the body”. “It is possible that the OBT makes bad decisions from time to time, but that in itself doesn’t harm anyone’s honour. Rather than whipping up emotions, it would be better to find solutions to any possible bad decisions,” he said.
“A small portion of the comments” referred to the need to tackle the issue, and that the judicial system needed a reform, Pecsenye said. He noted that under the Fundamental Law, parliament is the main body of the people’s representation in Hungary, which drafts laws, adopts the budget and its implementation and elects the prime minister, among other tasks. The legislative and executive powers have a right to define the framework of the system of courts, but must obtain the opinion of courts when shaping the judicial system; one of the ways to do that is by involving judicial bodies, including the OBT, in the legislative process, he said. Accordingly, the OBT is part of the process of legislative preparation for which it obtains the opinions of ogranisations representing the interests of judges in the process, he said.
“Our goal is to concentrate on … giving our opinion on the legislation before us … the OBT will also channel the opinion of ogranisations representing the interests of various groups,” Pecsenye said.
The National Assembly elected Tamás Sulyok as President of the Republic on Monday. The President of the Constitutional Court, who was the only candidate for the post, received 134 votes in favour in the secret ballot.
The opposition (DK, Momentum, Socialists, Jobbik, Párbeszéd) withdrew at the start of the presidential election, with a total of 146 MPs casting their votes. Of these, 7 were invalid votes, while there were also 5 no votes.
Before they voted on the new president, Hungarian lawmakers on Monday accepted the resignation of President Katalin Novák with 196 votes in favour, none against and no abstentions. Novák offered her resignation on Feb 10 after a scandal blew up in connection with a pardon she granted to the deputy director of an orphanage convicted of covering up child abuse.
Today was also an important day for NATO: Hungarian Parliament votes in favour, Sweden to join NATO – UPDATE
Hungarian governing parties nominate MEP László Trócsányi to replace Sulyok as head of the Supreme Court, details HERE.
After the announcement of the outcome of the vote, the president-elect took the presidential oath of office.
Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok. Photo: MTI
Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok. Photo: MTI
In a speech after his election, Sulyok said he wanted to build trust through mutual understanding free from prejudice. He said he believed in “the broadest possible transparency” when it came to bestowing awards or granting clemency.
Sulyok promised to work for a fair balance of constitutional fundamental rights and values.
He said the prerequisite for the existence of the state and the nation was mutual trust between individuals and groups of society, adding that he considered national constitutional identity and statehood based on popular sovereignty to be fundamentally important constitutional values.
The president-elect said those in a difficult situation, those unable to care for themselves, the elderly, ill and lonely “can always count on my attention and support”.
Sulyok was born on March 24, 1956 in Kiskunfélegyháza. In 1980, he graduated from the Faculty of Public Sciences and Law of the József Attila University of Szeged.
In 2004, he gained a qualification in European law from Budapest’s ELTE university and obtained a PhD from Szeged university in 2013, his thesis being on the constitutional status of the legal profession, the regulation of the internal market of the European Community and the connections between legal services.
Between 1997 and 2014 he headed a private legal practice, and from 2000 until his election as a constitutional judge in 2014 he was the honorary consul of Austria in Szeged. Since September 2005, he has taught constitutional law as a visiting lecturer at Szeged university.
He was deputy president of the Constitutional Court from April 2015 and in November 2016 parliament elected him as the court’s president.
UPDATE2: Romanian president congratulates President-elect Sulyok
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has congratulated Tamas Sulyok on his election as Hungary’s next president. “Congratulations to Tamas Sulyok for the election as President of Hungary,” Iohannis said on social media platform X. “I look forward to working together to the benefit of our people, on the basis of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and Hungary.”
Iohannis paid an official visit to Budapest last October for the first visit by a Romanian head of state to Hungary in 14 years. In September 2022, the Hungarian and Romanian presidents held an official meeting in Bucharest for the first time in 12 years when Iohannis received then-President Katalin Novak for talks.
188 members voted in favour of the proclamation of the Accession Treaty, six against it. This ends a year and a half of wrangling over NATO enlargement.
Six members of Mi Hazánk voted against it, and all others voted in favour.
Sweden announced on 25 April 2022 that it would apply to join NATO, together with Finland. At the time, the two countries were promised swift accession. The application was officially submitted on 18 May 2022 and approved by NATO in July.
Hungary did not start to hesitate until March 2023, almost a year after the country announced its intention to join. Last March, the Hungarian parliament approved the Finnish accession, but
for almost a year, it was not clear what Hungary’s problem was with Sweden.
As late as February 2023, Fidesz-KDNP party leaders announced that, despite having submitted draft legislation on ratification almost a year earlier, a debate on accession had emerged in the parliamentary group. The substance of the debate has not been clarified since then.
As we wrote earlier, Hungary is expanding its air force’s fleet of Gripen fighter jets with four new aircraft, PM Viktor Orbán said after meeting Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson in Budapest, details HERE.
Read also:
Swedish PM is in Budapest: NATO accession on the agenda – details, PHOTOS
UPDATE
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed parliament’s vote.
“I welcome the Hungarian parliament’s vote to ratify Sweden’s membership in NATO,”
he said on social media platform X. “Now that all Allies have approved, Sweden will become the 32nd NATO Ally. Sweden’s membership will make us all stronger and safer.”
I welcome the Hungarian parliament’s vote to ratify #Sweden’s membership in NATO. Now that all Allies have approved, Sweden will become the 32nd #NATO Ally. Sweden’s membership will make us all stronger and safer.
Diana Madunic, Ambassador of Sweden in Budapest (r) at the plenary session of the National Assembly on 26 February 2024.
Hungarian parliament approves Sweden’s accession to NATO. Photo: MTI
Today is a historic day. The parliaments of all NATO member states have now voted in favour of Swedish accession to NATO. Sweden stands ready to shoulder its responsibility for Euro-Atlantic security.
The Fidesz party could “recapture” Budapest unless parties of the opposition field joint candidates in the June municipal elections, the Socialist Party’s co-leader, Ágnes Kunhalmi, said on Tuesday.
The Socialists will launch a signature drive to gather support for the opposition to cooperate in the municipal and European parliamentary elections held on the same day, she said, adding that the goal was to collect 100,000 signatures before March 15.
The initiative could send a message to the opposition parties that “it is their hard and fast duty to cooperate with each other,” she said.
“In an anti-democratic authoritarian system, opposition parties should not compete with each other,” Kunhalmi said, adding that Fidesz could be defeated in both elections if the opposition united.
She also proposed “systematic cooperation in periods between elections”, adding that this was “the one method the opposition has not tried yet”.
Socialist group leader Bertalan Tőth cited a recent survey indicating that 80 percent of voters supported the opposition fielding joint candidates and 94 percent would support joint opposition lists. “Opposition voters do not blame cooperation itself for the election fiasco of 2022, but the quality of that cooperation,” Tőth added.
Also, he said that separate opposition parties would receive fewer votes than if they stumped together for the EP election, insisting that a united opposition could win ten EP mandates against nine for Fidesz.
The EU affairs ministry’s state secretary said on Wednesday that “the left in Brussels has taken yet another step towards increasing its own power while weakening the nation states” in the European Union.
In a post on Facebook, Barna Pál Zsigmond said that “the federalist majority in the European Parliament voted to strengthen the powers of institutions in Brussels as a result of which the nation states, above all the small central European countries, will not be able to have a say when it comes to taking decisions on important matters”.
The leftist MEPs, supported by their Hungarian peers, demand scrapping unanimous decision-making which would also scrap the option of a veto, he said, adding that they “would bypass member states such as Hungary that want to represent the interests of their own nation, their own people”.
Consensus-based decision-making has always been “the core and the fundamental principle” of the EU, a guarantee of the equality and sovereignty of member states, the state secretary said.
Hungary “believes” in an integration based on equal member states, whereas Brussels envisions a federalist European superstate with lesser powers held by nation states, Zsigmond said.
“What Brussels wants is that member states should not take decisions on their own defence policy, migration policy, tax system or foreign policy issues,” he said, outlining a proposal submitted by the left to the EP.
The plan, if adopted, would require Hungary to scrap its utility subsidies, the freeze on interest rates, the windfall profit tax and the child protection law, and it would “force us to take in and finance the living of illegal immigrants”, he said. Hungary could not have a say on Ukraine’s EU integration and on sending additional funds and weapons to the war [in Ukraine], the state secretary said.
He called it important for Hungarians “to state a clear opinion” about the protection of national sovereignty in the ongoing National Consultation survey
The European Parliament and EU Council negotiators have finalised the 2024 budget. But several countries, including the Hungarian government, are trying to block it.
The EU has reached an agreement
On Friday, the European Parliament and the European Council agreed on a common budget for 2024. That means a blueprint is now in place for what the union of states can commit to, under the supervision of the European Commission. The negotiations finally ended in a compromise. The final amount is EUR 189.4 billion, up from EUR 187 billion originally wanted by member states.
The European Parliament earmarked EUR 60 million for Erasmus+, EUR 85 million for Horizon Europe research and EUR 150 million for the neighbourhood and enlargement policy. The agreement also addressed the humanitarian needs arising from the conflict in Gaza, with EUR 250 million earmarked.
Under the agreement, many of the objectives will receive less spending, which many Member States did not like. A EUR 66 billion supplement for migration management, technology development and crisis management, as well as a EUR 50 billion aid package for Ukraine, were also discussed.
Hungary among the critical voices
Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, which are generally pro-austerity, also oppose the budget, but Hungary is the most vocal. The Hungarian government has publicly communicated that it will not vote for the nearly EUR 100 billion top-up until Hungarian payments blocked by various rule of law procedures are unblocked, portfolio.hu writes.
The other critical member states, on the one hand, are in favour of the loan, and on the other hand, they think that the aid to Ukraine should be covered in another way, because there is a good chance that someone would veto it, as Hungary has done many times. As an example, the Hungarian government now cites the fact that it held up aid to Ukraine until the end of last year – until the signing of the partnership agreement – just as it is not allowing payments to cover EU arms shipments from the European Peace Facility.
Renew MEP Valérie Hayer also criticised the agreement. According to her, this agreement prevents Europe from properly managing crises. Johannes Hahn, the EU’s budget commissioner, echoed this. Hahn stressed that no deal would be struck with the Hungarian government led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Hungary is among the member states to have used European Union funding the most effectively, Regional Development Minister Tibor Navracsics said on Thursday.
Speaking at the closing event of two comprehensive regional development programmes, TOP and VEKOP, Navracsics said that the two schemes supported 13,000 projects aimed at closing the gap between developed and laggard regions of the country.
Navracsics thanked the European Commission for the timely disbursement of the funds, and saying it had contributed to “Hungary becoming more liveable and competitive”.
He called on representatives of the EC to “move on from their political fears and decide on funding based on their professional stance rather than the European Parliament’s political statements.”
Agnes Monfret, head of the European Commission’s unit for programme implementation in Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovenia, noted that TOP and VEKOP projects had created or revamped some creches offering 10,000 places and 50,000 places in kindergartens.
The programmes also contributed to building 3,700 hectares of industrial parks in less-developed localities, to upgrading 3.3 million square meters of public spaces, to building 500km of bike roads and to revamping 2,000 GP’s offices. Almost 65,000 people participated in training for the labour market, and 99 local groups received help in implementing their development strategy, she noted.
Hungary’s cohesion funds in the 2021-2027 financial cycle come to EUR 22 billion, or 12 percent of the country’s GDP, she said. “I count on my Hungarian colleagues to work together with us … and to communicate our joint achievements as partners.”
TOP used EUR 4 billion of EU co-financing in disadvantaged regions of the country, and VEKOP received EUR 582 million to develop projects in central Hungary.
Parliament on Monday approved an amendment that authorises the government to extend by 180 days the state of emergency declared last May in connection with the war in Ukraine.
The motion passed with 131 votes for, 52 against and one abstention.
The law is aimed at managing the fallout of the war and the humanitarian disaster in Hungary.
The government first declared a state of emergency in connection with the war in Ukraine in May 2022, and MPs have voted to extend it several times.
The proposal on Sweden’s accession to NATO, which has been pending for almost 16 months, still does not fit into the Hungarian Parliament’s agenda. It really seems that Hungary will be the last one to clear the obstacle to Swedish accession.
As we wrote before, Ukraine will not win on the battlefield, EU needs plan B, says PM Orbán, details HERE.
We wrote today, Hungary expresses its condolences to the leaders of Transcarpathia for the war losses against Russia, details HERE.
MPs approve Hungary military mission to Chad
Parliament on Monday approved a Hungarian military mission to Chad, with up to 200 soldiers scheduled to serve from spring next year.
MPs voted with 143 for, 30 against and two abstentions.
The mission will underpin efforts to promote international peace and security as well as the fight against terrorism. Also, the aim is to undergird the stability of the Sahel region with a view to curbing illegal migration pressure on Europe.
The mission is in response to an invitation by Chad’s president for Hungarian soldiers to be stationed there until Dec 31, 2025.
Hungary will not tolerate migrant ghettos on its territory, Fidesz MEP Balázs Hidvéghi told Hungarian journalists in Strasbourg on Wednesday after a European Parliament plenary debate, adding that other European Union member states were not adequately protecting the EU’s borders.
After the debate on the new EU asylum and migration package, the Fidesz politician said Hungary rejected the mandatory distribution and resettlement of migrants based on quotas, while other EU members were determined to have multiculturalism “at all costs” and impose illegal immigration on others.
Migration, he said, was now Europe’s “biggest crisis” and threatened the bloc’s most basic values and achievements such as the Schengen borders that ensure free movement within the EU. Also, public safety and everyday welfare were at risk, he said, adding that illegal migration jeopardised European culture and the European way of life.
French National Rally MEP Jean-Paul Garraud told Hungarian journalists that the EU asylum package threatened member states’ sovereignty and right to take measures to stop mass migration. He said attacks against Hungary and Poland “must be stopped”, adding that the two countries represented their peoples’ interests.
European Conservatives and Reformists MEP Jorge Buxade Villalba said violence and a lack of security were growing problems due to migrants arriving in Europe and enjoying free movement on the continent.
Sweden Democrats MEP Charlie Weimers insisted that Sweden’s liberal migration policy had resulted in violence in society, and the asylum package awaiting adoption was not up to the job of handling the influx of mass migration, putting member states under even greater pressure.
Christian Democrat MEP György Hölvényi said in a statement that ever since the migration crisis broke out in 2015, the union had been incapable of forging a credible solution to ease the pressure on Europe. Only member states on the front line of migration such as Hungary have managed to provide real solutions, he added.
These countries rightly expect the EU to fund the construction and maintenance of facilities protecting the Schengen border, he said.
Hölvényi also said that EU development funds should be used to address the root causes of migration in Africa by, for instance, aiding local support for education and job creation, and ensuring public safety.
The European Union’s security, economic and political interests firmly hinge on integrating countries of the Western Balkans, a governing lawmaker told a European Parliament committee, arguing that enlargement would make the EU stronger, while each month of delay would enfeeble the bloc.
“Hungary finds it unacceptable that delays to the enlargement process may end up weakening the European Union,” Christian Democratic lawmaker Lőrinc Nacsa told MTI after attending the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET). “In times of war and amid the challenges of migration, the EU accession of Western Balkan countries is our primary interest, also from a security point of view.”
The party’s deputy group leader noted that ten years ago Croatia joined the EU, yet the bloc had shrunk by one member since then, which he called a “shameful record”.
Noting that he was among delegates from the foreign affairs committees of national parliaments attending the AFET meeting on Tuesday, he said the Hungarian parliament had sent experts to aid countries aspiring the join the bloc in fulfilling the necessary accession criteria while supporting their parliaments through various programmes both in the eastern and southern regions of Europe.
Nacsa said Hungary kept the issue of enlargement firmly on the EU’s agenda while promoting the Schengen accession of non-EU-member countries. Quickening the enlargement process and striving to prevent any further delays to Western Balkan integration were high Hungarian priorities, he added.
Fidesz MEP Gál Kinga in a statement criticised the annual report on Bosnia-Herzegovina approved by the EP’s foreign affairs committee at the meeting, saying that like most EP reports on Western Balkan countries, it rode roughshod over the complex problems of the region, and such reports only served to sharpen conflicts and instability there.
The Fidesz EP group leader accused “left liberals” of using the report to mount an ideologically based attack against Olivér Várhelyi, the commissioner for enlargement, which she said was “unacceptable”.
It “incomprehensible”, she added, that the report “also openly attacks Hungarian companies”, blaming Momentum Movement MEP Katalin Cseh for this. “It’s shocking that a Hungarian left-wing representative has attacked Hungarian companies operating in Bosnia-Herzegovina … baselessly confusing them with Chinese companies,” Gal said.
According to an unconfirmed report, Judit Varga, the minister of justice, is slated to lead Fidesz’s list in the 2024 European Parliament election and will step down from her ministerial post, the daily Magyar Nemzet said on Wednesday.
The paper carried an interview with the minister, noting that Varga did not want to confirm the report because the Fidesz leadership had yet to finalise the decision, though, she added, she definitely wanted to “represent the interests of the Hungarian people” in the EP, would join the campaign and quit her post to do so.
She said much was at stake in the EP elections, and she wanted to take an active role in forging conservative European institutions and to build multiple alliances. A “vibrant conservative movement” was growing across Europe, she said. “We must build on this.”
Varga said the left-liberal predominance in the EU “must be overturned”.
Referring to her ministerial legacy, she said two major agreements were brought about in Brussels: “a big step forward” in the conditionality procedure in December, and the completion of the judicial package in May, which is yet to be implemented.
Varga also referred to the creation of a national victim help network, the strengthening of child and family rights in cooperation with the civil sphere and law enforcement, and a big salary increase for judges and prosecutors.
She said that when it came to debates over the rule of law there were people such as those of the Soros network who saw it as their mission to “say awful things about us”.
Varga chided some EU member states for voting through certain decisions against their own national interests with the aim of giving the impression of European harmony, while shying away from implementing the decisions at home.
The insistence on ever-deeper European integration, she added, would actually lead to its opposite. “Honesty, a clear definition of the national interest and mutual respect” were requisites for the EU to stay together, she said. The European founders set out not to oppress states but to “open up a larger field of action for them” where everyone could bask in each other’s success, Varga concluded.
UPDATE
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has acknowledged the intention of Justice Minister Judit Varga to step down from her post, Orbán’s press chief told MTI.
Orbán has nominated Bence Tuzson, state secretary of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office, to fill the post, Bertalan Havasi said.
The daily Magyar Nemzet said earlier in the day that Varga is slated to lead ruling Fidesz’s list in the 2024 European Parliament election and would step down from her ministerial post.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo is not in favour of stripping Hungary of its EU presidency. He fears that such a decision would be counterproductive and could even put Hungary in a “position of luxury”.
Speaking in the Chamber on Tuesday, the Belgian Prime Minister said he shared Parliament’s concern about the rule of law situation in Hungary. Alexander De Croo said that Belgium and the government had always been clear on the issue, but that it was not a good idea to deprive Hungary of the presidency, according to The Brussels Times.
“In my view, it would be counterproductive. The presidency is not only a privilege, but it is also a duty,” De Croo said. “It obliges a Member State to show its colours, to play its role as president and to be a conciliator. [Depriving the country] would even put Hungary in a position of luxury.”
On 1 June, the European Parliament voted Hungary ineligible for the rotating presidency. 442 MEPs voted in favour, 144 against and 33 abstained on the resolution against Hungary.
The resolution questions Hungary’s eligibility to hold the EU presidency in 2024. It also lists 24 points of objections that it says Hungary is violating the rule of law and fundamental rights, and refers to the freezing of EU funds against the country.
In an opinion piece published in Politico, lawyer Alberto Alemanno wrote: “Ultimately, blocking Hungary’s presidency isn’t about sanctioning Orbán — it’s about preserving the bloc’s operation and good governance.” According to the lawyer, the chances of Hungary’s EU presidency being blocked are greater than ever.
The European Parliament on Thursday passed a resolution condemning what it calls “deliberate and systematic efforts” to undermine EU values in Hungary, and expressing concern over Hungary taking over the bloc’s rotating presidency in 2024.
In the resolution adopted with 442 votes in favour, 144 against and 33 abstentions, EU lawmakers call into question how Hungary would be able to credibly fulfil its role as president of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2024.
The EP emphasised the importance of the role of the Council president in “driving forward the Council’s work on EU legislation, ensuring the continuity of the EU agenda and representing the Council in relations with the other EU institutions”.
According to the resolution, the EP “questions how Hungary will be able to credibly fulfil this task in 2024, in view of its non-compliance with EU law and the values . as well as the principle of sincere cooperation”. The assembly therefore asks the Council “to find a proper solution as soon as possible”, and noted that the EP “could take appropriate measures if such a solution is not found”.
EU lawmakers also expressed their concern over the situation of EU values in Hungary, which they said had continued to deteriorate despite the EP launching the Article 7 procedure against the country.
The resolution condemns the government’s “anti-EU communication campaigns” which the EP said was “part of the government’s strategy to divert attention from its non-compliance with the values enshrined in Article 2 TEU and its systemic corruption”. In view of the 2024 European parliamentary and local elections, MEPs called on the Hungarian government to bring its conduct of elections in line with international standards.
The document calls attention to “reports about intimidation methods, such as visits by the secret police to some companies’ offices, and other forms of pressure being used by certain individuals known to be connected to the Prime Minister’s close circle or office”, which it said were aimed at “bringing those parts of the Hungarian industry deemed to be ‘strategic’ under their control”.
The EP also expressed concern over frozen EU funds and the delay in the relevant reforms.
The European Parliament may adopt a position in the coming days on the unsuitability of the Viktor Orbán government to hold the EU presidency. The Hungarian government has come under attack from other EU countries including the Netherlands and Germany.
Brussels is contemplating an unprecedented move
More and more countries and politicians want Hungary to be excluded from the rotating presidency of the European Council in 2024. A resolution is already being drafted in the EU saying that it would be unacceptable for the Viktor Orbán-led government to take over the representation of EU member states due to rule of law concerns.
Petri Sarvamaa, the EPP spokesman on budgetary control and rule of law issues, has expressed major concerns about Hungary’s ability to fulfil the role because the country does not respect EU laws, portfolio.hu reports.
It is important to note that, although the political influence of the rotating presidency has diminished, it still plays a role in shaping the negotiations on EU legislation.
Harsh criticism from Germany and the Netherlands
“It is clear that the Orbán government is totally unfit to chair the Council for six months. Europe cannot be led by homophobic, kleptocratic, Putinist lapdogs,” said Dutch MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld.
“A Hungarian EU presidency would be like electing Orbán, a schoolyard bully, as headmaster. Holding the rotating presidency means speaking on behalf of the 27 member states, and he is not the right person for the job,” said German MEP Moritz Körner.
The Renew Europe Group is urging the Council to find a solution to the problem, index.hu reports.
Hungarian reaction
“Once again the European Parliament wants to take something away from Hungary. Next week, the EP will again vote on a resolution against Hungary, in which they want to block the Hungarian EU presidency in the second half of 2024″ – Judit Varga, Minister of Justice, wrote in a Facebook post.
Commenting on the expected decision of the European Parliament, Prime Minister Gergely Gulyás said that there is a draft decision before the European Parliament, but they do not have the power to make such an action.
The European Parliament does not respect democracy or the rule of law, Justice Minister Judit Varga said in Brussels on Tuesday.
Varga told Hungarian journalists ahead of a meeting of European Union affairs ministers that the EP had not been “dealt any cards” to decide which country fulfils the presidency of the Council of the European Union.
An EP initiative to prevent Hungary from filling the council presidency in the second half of 2024 only shows the body’s frustration, she said. One of the priorities of Hungary’s presidency will be to check the functioning of the rule-of-law principles in the EP’s operations, she added.
The EP respects neither democracy nor the rule of law, as it wants to introduce an initiative this week which clearly goes against the EU treaties, she said.
