Hungary is vowing to ‘Make Europe Great Again’ as the Central European country unveiled the priorities of its six-month-long EU presidency on Tuesday, June 18th. In a play on words of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s slogan, “Make America Great Again,” the conservative government of Hungary will be attempting to “provide real solutions to the real problems of Europe,” as it lists competitiveness, migration, defence, EU enlargement, and agricultural policy as key areas that Europe needs to address.
“The motto points to a proactive presidency and symbolises the notion that we are stronger together than apart,” Hungarian EU Affairs Minister János Bóka said on Tuesday at a press conference introducing the country’s EU presidency which will begin on July 1st and last until the end of the year.
The presidency of the Council of the European Union rotates among the 27 EU member states every six months. The country holding the presidency guides the work of the Council and represents all member states in negotiations with other EU institutions. Hungary will follow in the footsteps of Belgium, and will be responsible for setting the agenda until the end of this year.
János Bóka said Hungary takes over the presidency at a time when Europe faces countless challenges, such as the war in Ukraine, mass migration from Africa and Asia, the demographic decline of the continent, climate change, and lagging behind other global powers in terms of competitiveness and digital transition. “The EU has to guarantee the security and peace of Europe, and every one of our priorities will be interpreted within this framework,” the minister added.
There is a desire for change in Europe, as the results of the recent European elections made clear. Eurosceptic and anti-establishment parties made big gains, and the European Parliament has significantly shifted to the Right, reflecting growing frustration in Europe about issues such as uncontrolled mass migration and the European Green Deal, which protesting farmers have blamed for endangering their livelihoods.
With regards to migration, the Hungarian presidency’s programme envisions closer cooperation between the member states, as well as with key countries of origin and transit to curb illegal migration and human smuggling. Hungary has been one of the most vocal and active member states opposing illegal migration, and despite spending huge amounts of money on border protection, and successfully deterring migrants from entering Hungary, it was recently fined by the European Court of Justice for “restricting access to international protection.” Hungary has also rejected the recently adopted Migration and Asylum Pact, under which EU countries have to accept migrants or pay a fine.
On climate change and environmentalism, the programme makes a reference to the Green Deal and the influx of cheap Ukrainian agricultural products which have saturated the market, causing both European farmers and truck drivers to protest:
Climate change, growing input costs, increasing imports from third countries, and overly stringent production rules have significantly decreased the competitiveness of the sector. It is essential to view agriculture not as a cause of climate change, but as part of the solution, by engaging farmers in adopting more sustainable production practices.
János Bóka called the Hungarian programme a farmer-oriented agricultural policy. “While guaranteeing food security, European farmers provide all EU citizens with basic public goods. Therefore, a long-term guarantee of food sovereignty and food security should be part of the strategic autonomy of the EU,” the programme reads.
Hungary is also focused on one of its key priorities of recent years: the enlargement of the EU, especially that of the Western Balkans, saying “the region’s integration benefits the EU in economic, security and geopolitical terms.” The country has long advocated for the border-free Schengen Area to be expanded to include Romania and Bulgaria, and for countries, like Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia, that have either started or are ready to start negotiations to join the EU, but have been sidelined by inactivity by Brussels, to be members of the bloc as soon as possible. Hungary believes enlargement would lead to better security and a more efficient handling of the migration routes that run through this region.
With regards to Ukraine, whose EU membership Hungary has opposed, the presidency programme states that “the Hungarian Presidency will continue the work based on the previous decisions and guidelines set by the European Council.” EU member states recently agreed to start negotiations with Ukraine, which has been at war with Russia for more than two years. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has questioned the wisdom of admitting a country actively fighting a war and has also been opposed to Ukraine’s accession based on the country’s failure to give rights to its Hungarian minority population.
The Hungarian agenda also highlights the need for:
- a “New European Competitiveness Deal” to address the problem of Europe lagging behind its global competitors;
- the reinforcement of European defence policy, with the EU playing a greater role in guaranteeing its own security;
- shaping the future of cohesion policy to ensure the reduction of regional disparities in Europe as well as to secure economic, social, and territorial cohesion;
- addressing demographic challenges.
“Brussels has made the wrong decisions in dealing with the consequences of the war in Ukraine. Many important issues have become over-politicised and over-ideologised, and several regulations have been adopted that unreasonably hinder successful economic activity. During our presidency, we will try to address this situation with proposals aimed at improving the competitiveness of the European Union,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said a few days ago.
As we previously reported, Hungary’s no-nonsense conservative stance on issues like migration and social issues, and its opposition to sending weapons to Ukraine, has resulted in EU funds being withheld from Hungary under a ‘rule of law’ pretext. The Brussels liberal elite has tried to block the Hungarian presidency, but attempts to cancel Hungary, moves that would have gone against the EU Treaties, have been unsuccessful.
“The result of the European election is clear: right-wing parties got stronger, the Left and the liberals lost ground,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán tweeted on Tuesday, following a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels. He criticised the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) for cosying up to the socialists and the liberals to divide the top jobs of the EU among themselves. Viktor Orbán wrote:
They don’t care about reality, they don’t care about the results of the European elections, and they don’t care about the will of the European people. We shouldn’t be naive: they will continue to support migration and send even more money and weapons to the Russia-Ukraine war.
However, despite the insistency by the EPP to reelect Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission President, the 27 EU leaders were unable to come to an agreement, and the question of who to appoint as the heads of the main EU institutions, will be put on the agenda at the next EU summit at the end of next week.
