Donald Trump’s campaign team has accused EU Commissioner Thierry Breton of election meddling after he sent a letter to Elon Musk, stating that Musk had a duty to censor potentially ‘harmful content’ on X ahead of Musk’s interview with the former US president. To make matters more embarrassing, it has emerged that Breton did not even inform Ursula von der Leyen of his actions.
Ursula von der Leyen’s Europe’s Choice programme will be the working document on the basis of which the Commissioners designate will receive their portfolios and, when they take office, the mandate in which the Commission President will set out their work and expectations for the next five years. And the implementation of these visions will be the task for this period to come.
On 18 July the European Parliament re-elected European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with 401 votes in favour. In her speech before the vote, von der Leyen made numerous political promises for the next five years but also, of course, criticized Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s peace mission.
After late-night talks, EU leaders have decided on the top jobs of the EU, with Ursula von der Leyen preparing for a second term as President of the European Commission, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and former Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa as President of the European Council. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán criticized the pact between the EPP, S&D, and Renew, which disregards the will of the voters, calling it a ‘coalition of lies and deceit’.
Budapest’s recognized initiatives as part of the programme included the car-free weekend organized with the involvement of the Budapest Transport Centre (BKK), as well as the European Car-Free Day held on weekdays, during which Mayor Gergely Karácsony presented plans for the human-friendly and green renewal of the lower embankment of Pest. The programme also included events aimed at showcasing best practices in pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly developments, jointly organized with the city of Vienna, targeting both the general public and professionals.
The European Parliament is seriously considering legal action against the European Commission regarding the allocation of EU funds to Hungary. Despite Brussels releasing €10.2 billion last December, over €20 billion remain blocked due to ‘rule of law concerns’.
As the enlargement process advances, the imperative to reform the European Union becomes increasingly pressing. Opinions are divided on how this should be achieved; the European Commission may soon unveil its own plans.
Emphasizing the need to resist ‘blackmail’, the resolution, approved by the vast majority of the MEPs, condemns the alleged ‘systematic efforts of the Hungarian government to undermine the EU’s founding values’. The resolution also highlights Hungary’s perceived violations of EU treaties, calling on the European Council to assess whether the country has committed ‘serious and persistent breaches of EU values.’
Debates about Hungary consistently bring to the forefront the Hungarophobic positions and opinions of the Left in the European Parliament. In the current session, left-wing MEPs targeted not only Viktor Orbán but also Ursula von der Leyen.
Leftist MEPs added a last-minute amendment to a resolution up for a vote on the European Parliament floor tomorrow in which they declare their intent to sue the European Commission for approving the release of €10.2 billion of the withheld cohesion funds to Hungary.