The German State Secretary for European Affairs expressed her reluctance, which many MEPs shared.
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published on 05/30/2023 at 13:10
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German State Secretary for European Affairs Anna Lührmann on Tuesday denounced Hungary’s isolation within the European Union. JOHN THYS
Germany’s State Secretary for European Affairs, Anna Lührmann, voiced “doubts” on Hungary’s ability to hold the EU Council Presidency in the second half of 2024 on Tuesday, May 30, echoing concerns from European parliamentarians.
Hungary, led by nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, “is currently isolated within the European Union due to rule of law issues that are really serious,” the German official said during the meeting. a meeting with his European counterparts in Brussels.
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Hungary ‘leaves doubts’
In addition, she stressed that Hungary “still harbors doubts about its support for Ukraine in Russia’s brutal war of aggression”. “Therefore, I have doubts about Hungary’s ability to hold its presidency,” she continued. Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra also expressed his “discomfort” at the prospect of Hungary’s EU Council Presidency. “That’s what we all feel,” he said. Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga defended her country’s ability to secure this rotating presidency by organizing the debates “in good faith”.
Hungary already held this rotating presidency in the first half of 2011. Judit Varga criticized the “political pressure” on the European Parliament, which plans to vote on a resolution on the issue on Thursday, calling the discussion “crazy”. How will Viktor Orban’s government “be able to credibly fulfill its task in the face of disregard for EU law and values”, questions the draft resolution, which calls on the Council to “find a solution as soon as possible”.
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The text was tabled by several of the main groups in the chamber – EPP (right), S&D (Socialists and Democrats), Renew Europe (Centre and Liberals), Greens, GUE/NGL (Radical Left). The Council of the EU, in which the ministers of the member states discuss European legislation, is chaired by each of the 27 EU countries in turn for six months. Hungary is at odds with Brussels over failures in the fight against corruption, media independence and judiciary, and the EU has suspended billions of euros in EU money to be paid to that country in response. In addition, since the beginning of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, Viktor Orban has refused to help Kiev militarily, blamed the policy of sanctions against Moscow and maintained ties with the Kremlin.