It didn’t take long before the familiar anti-Hungarian voices of Brussels echoed once again in the New Year. Now, yet again, the goal is to obstruct Hungary’s rotating EU Council presidency.
Secretary Zsigmond expressed concerns over the slow progress in holding representatives accountable for misusing hundreds of thousands of euros. He also highlighted contradictory reports and voting patterns of these representatives against Hungary in the European Parliament,
The European Union is not lacking in politicians with negative views towards Hungary. In this article, we have compiled a list of the most notorious MEPs known for their Hungarophobic stances.
‘Given these numerous negative trends, it is clear that 2024 stands as a do-or-die moment for European leaders and policymakers to save and turn around the European Union. Achieving such will require making painful decisions. In the short term, the most immediate, visible, and pressing among these is addressing the migrant crisis, including the reality that many migrants, refugees, and illegal immigrants are taking advantage of Europe’s over-generous welfare state.’
Under the scope of the Union’s REPowerEU programme, €779.5 billion have been transferred to Budapest and the amount is now included in the government budget, Finance Minister Mihály Varga announced today. According to Minister for Regional Development Tibor Navracsics, an additional €445 million will also arrive from Brussels soon.
At the year-end press conference, PM Orbán explained why he chose to veto the €50 billion aid package to Ukraine at the recent EU Summit, how he views the potential Ukrainian and Swedish NATO accession, and what he believes the biggest struggles of 2023 were. He also talked about what hopes he has for the new year of 2024.
In several countries of the European Union, the concept of referendums linked to the enlargement of the Union is well known. In 2016, the Netherlands held a referendum on the adoption of the association agreement between Ukraine and the European Union. The majority of voters rejected the agreement, but as it was only an advisory referendum, so the result did not ultimately bind the Dutch government. France’s constitution requires a referendum to be held before any future EU enlargement. I see no reason why Hungary should not be the next country to have such a plebiscite.
The political director of the Prime Minister emphasized that the EU treaty is unequivocal: expanding the EU requires the consent of the member states, and Hungary’s rights cannot be restricted beyond a certain extent by any procedural rule.
Regarding the acceptance of the fifty billion euros financial package for Ukraine, he noted that it would have meant a serious and immediate detriment to Hungary. ‘We see that the European Union wants to finance a failed strategy, and it makes no sense whatsoever,’ he expressed.
While talking to the Hungarian daily Magyar Nemzet, Ákos Bence Gát of the Danube Institute criticized the hectic and unreliable way the withholding and release of funds is ruled on by the EU. He also talked about Ukraine’s potential accession to the Union, which is the main agenda point of the ongoing EU Council meeting.