The European Parliament (EP), which is currently dominated by leftist and globalist politicians and their sycophants, is trying to set the legislative and political stage to impede Hungary from chairing the EU Council in 2024.
On June 1, the EP, whose credibility has been dented by the Qatargate corruption incident, is slated to adopt a draft resolution pertaining to what they term the situation of the rule of law in Hungary during a plenary session.
According to the Hungarian left-wing news outlet Népszava, a five-party draft proposal prepared by Renew, the Greens, S&D, and the Left as well as EPP parliamentary groupings, urged the European Council to solve the issue of Hungary’s alleged challenges in “credibly” chairing the EU Council presidency in 2024, and slammed Budapest for breaching the alliance’s “core values” and refusing to work alongside fellow member states.
Based on the parliamentary text’s first draft, EU lawmakers alleged that the rule of law and fundamental rights have deteriorated under conservative and pro-life Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government, which the Hungarian population has strongly supported in more than one election.
It can be said that this draft signifies the very first time that the European Parliament has tried to obstruct an EU government, particularly the democratically elected government of Hungary, from chairing the presidency of the EU Council, which serves as the decision-making body of the 27-member alliance.
In response to the EP’s attempts to undermine Hungary’s reputation and ability to assume the presidency, Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga penned a Facebook post:
The decision on who will hold the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union was taken by unanimous decision of the Council. The European Parliament was not dealt a hand on this issue. Of those who were dealt a hand, no one thought that Hungary should not take up its rightful post. We are in daily contact with the General Secretariat of the Council, and we are preparing for the task. The EU presidency is an excellent opportunity not only to make our country and its position even better known in the member states of the European Union, 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.
Varga then declared, “We will not let such an opportunity be taken away from Hungary!”
Similarly, Hungarian State Secretary for International Communication Zoltan Kovacs tweeted:
The European Parliament is targeting Hungary once more, this time to prevent us from assuming the EU presidency in the second half of 2024. Their justification is the same old, tired charge that Hungary violates the EU’s basic principles and is hence unable to hold the presidency. But we know the actual reason: they dislike Hungary’s pro-peace stance and seek to drive us into conflict. But the Hungarian government is not capitulating to pressure, and we remain firm in our stance. This has been obvious since the beginning of the war: Hungary is asking for peace and an immediate end of hostilities since it is the only way to preserve human lives.
During the first six months of 2011, Hungary first helmed the EU Council, eight years following its membership in the EU. Notably at that point of time, Orbán was serving his second term as leader of the Hungarian government.
For some time already, leftist European politicians and lawmakers have been blatant about their plans to undermine conservative governments of their fellow EU member states. For example, MEPs representing the leftist EP coalition attended a May 31 press conference meant to persuade the EU Council and Commission to obstruct Hungary and Poland from becoming rotating presidents of the Council for a term of six months each. During the press conference, the leftist MEPs revealed that if the EU Council fails to prevent Hungary and Poland from chairing the Council as part of its rotating presidency system, the EP would attempt to remove all opportunities for the two countries and decrease inter-institutional collaboration “to the bare minimum.”
Notwithstanding all the hype and globo-speak about democracy and equal opportunities, it looks as if the Left has not been shy about depriving conservative voices of their rightful opportunities.
After two hearings in the EU Council on May 30, Věra Jourová, the EU Commission’s vice-president for values and transparency, said that while “there are some positive developments” in the case of Hungary and Poland, “serious concerns remain” with regard to rule of law.
During a parliamentary debate on May 31, all MEPs representing leftist European parties as well as the center-right EPP tried to justify their stances to impede Hungary from the 2024 presidency role.
“We ask [the Council and Commission] for recommendations, we ask again for keeping the funds frozen … and [also] to have a debate started on the Hungarian presidency, [which would begin on] the 1st of July, 2024, when the Parliament will be renewed and the Commission mandate will start,” MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Greens/France) stated in her speech.
Delbos-Corfield gloated about this proposal, saying, “We heard rumors that in the Council, some member states and some governments are indeed very concerned with this, which is very good news,” adding that “at least now things cannot be put on the side.”
From the perspective of leftist parties, as Hungary is supposed to helm the Council’s presidency earlier, its case would thus be more pressing compared to Poland’s. After Budapest’s turn ends in January 2025, Warsaw is poised to take up the lead.
Isabel Wiseler-Lima talked about the symbolic and representative importance of the Council presidency, saying that the EP simply cannot let Hungary’s Orbán “be the face of the European Union.” That being said, Wiseler-Lima’s tone was more subdued than the other parliamentarians, stating that it was not the responsibility of MEPs to instruct the EU Council on how to conduct its affairs.
“The Council should actually understand the seriousness of what’s happening here, [because] Hungary is no longer a democracy,” the Dutch Thijs Reuten (S&D) chipped in, rather emotionally. “We urge the Council to take action. I am sick and tired of hearing back from the Council that they had a good discussion that helped them to understand the problems. We are way beyond that point, we should act now.”
The EU Council presidency rotates among the EU member states every six months. During this six-month period, the presidency chairs meetings at every level in the Council, organizing the institution’s legislative activities, serving as the face of the Council in its dealings with other EU bodies, and contributing to the legacy of the EU’s work in the Council. Sweden currently holds the Council presidency.
