Demography, competitiveness and enlargement, and the fight against illegal migration are among the priorities, Minister Judit Varga says.Continue reading
The European Parliament continues to exert pressure on Hungary over the EU budget, the justice minister and Fidesz MEPs in Brussels have warned.
“Next week, the EP will vote again on a resolution against Hungary, intended to prevent Hungary’s EU presidency in the second half of 2024,” Justice Minister Judit Varga warned in a Facebook post on Wednesday. Hungary will take over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in one year.
“The decision on who will hold the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union was taken by the Council in unanimity,” she reminded.
The European Parliament was not assigned any role in this process,”
the minister pointed out, adding that “of those who were actually assigned any role in this process, no one thought that Hungary should not take up its rightful position”. “We are in daily contact with the General Secretariat of the Council, preparing for the task,” she added.
According to Varga, the EU presidency is “an excellent opportunity not only to make our country and its position better known in the EU member states, but also to shape the future of Europe. In this context, the Hungarian Presidency will have three main priorities: demography, competitiveness and the future of cohesion policy,” she reminded.
Fidesz MEPs reported that on Wednesday the European Parliament’s Budget and Budgetary Control Committees held a joint meeting to discuss the ongoing budgetary conditionality procedure against Hungary, hearing Commissioner Johannes Hahn.
With the ever-increasing political blackmail threatening to withhold EU funds, the Left’s aim is to force Hungary into the war,”
the MEPs wrote in a statement.
Fidesz MEP Andor Deli expressed hope that the Commission will resist the pressure from the Parliament this time. He stressed that “if the Commission gives in, the whole process will become a farce, proving that the conditionality procedure is not about protecting the EU budget, but rather about making harassment and political blackmail of member states legal within a procedural framework.”
Featured photo via the European Parliament