Thursday’s agreement concerning the European Union’s next budget and coronavirus recovery fund has in the first place been a victory for common sense, Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga said in an interview to BBC World News on Friday.
Varga welcomed that the community was now focusing on the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impacts rather than on ideological debates, and called the recovery package unprecedented.
The EU treaties must not be bypassed, nor should some member states be politically blackmailed through the community budget, pressing them to change their position concerning major issues, the minister said. She rejected accusations that the Hungarian government takes EU money but rejects the community’s democratic norms. It is in all members’ interest that community funds should be spent legitimately, especially because Hungarian taxpayers, too, contribute to the European budget, she insisted.
According to Varga, the Hungarian government has obtained guarantees of fair procedures and legal security.
Featured photo by Gergely Botár/kormany.hu
