Hungarian Conservative

After a long time, Europe has the opportunity to take its future into its own hands, restore its long-lost prestige, and promote peace in Ukraine. Instead, Brussels has initiated a childish vendetta against Hungary over Viktor Orbán’s peace mission. Missing such opportunities out of hubris and pettiness demonstrates the utter incompetence of the EU leadership.

Ursula Von der Leyen has been re-elected as President of the European Commission by 401 MEPs who voted in favour. The conservative groups, that is, the ECR, Patriots for Europe, and Europe of Sovereign Nations voted against, as Von der Leyen and the EPP do not stand for conservative values and ideals any more.

Polish MEP Ewa Zajączkowska-Hernik has been catapulted to fame by her tough speech last week in the European Parliament mercilessly criticizing Ursula von der Leyen. Zajączkowska-Hernik stated, among other things, that von der Leyen should go to jail instead of seeking re-election for her political activities over the past five years. The Polish MEP’s speech has already been viewed by nearly 3 million people on X.

After some details had been circulating in the press for days, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán decided to release his ten-point proposal and assessment he had sent to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, following his peace mission. The document is the most detailed plan for achieving peace in Ukraine that has ever been made public since the war broke out in February 2022.

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.

The majority of Hungarians agree with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the Hungarian government in not supporting Ursula von der Leyen’s second term as President of the European Commission. The vote in the European Parliament will take place on Thursday, 18 July, but it is far from certain that the current president will secure the 361 votes needed for re-election.

‘This new coalition (between the EPP, S&D, and Renew) wants to ignore what has been decided by free and sovereign nations that have grown tired of the policies imposed by Brussels. The interests of the voters are being systematically trampled on in a scandalous way,’ Vox MEP Hermann Terstch told Hungarian Conservative in a recent interview.

In a break with tradition, Viktor Orbán’s speech at the first plenary session of the European Parliament, where he was to present the programme of the Hungarian Presidency, may be postponed. The stated reason is that the Hungarian PM’s speech does ‘not fit into the EP’s timetable’.

‘The Hungarian presidency has just begun, but every opportunity is being seized to obstruct it, as it offers the Hungarian government the chance to present its vision of an alternative Europe to the entire continent,’ the Center for Fundamental Rights stress in their analysis. They also note that the Hungarian PM’s visit to Kyiv took the international press by surprise, as the liberal media has consistently and falsely portrayed Hungary’s stance as pro-Russian from the start, a claim that Viktor Orbán has now clearly disproved.

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’.

Orbán seems to have reached a compromise with exiting Dutch PM Mark Rutte about the latter’s NATO SecGen candidacy. But as for nominating von der Leyen again as next Commission President, Orbán, did not mince his words last night. He declared on X that ‘the will of the European people was ignored’ on Monday evening, and stated that the EPP eventually teamed up with ‘the socialists and the liberals’.

‘“Today marks a new chapter for Poland,” Ursula von der Leyen claimed in early May when announcing the European Commission’s decision to withdraw its case against Poland in the Article 7 procedure it had launched in 2017. I would add to that: “Today marks a final warning for all conservatives in the EU.”’

According to information from POLITICO, EU leaders and some member states want to punish Hungary by giving the country a weak portfolio in the next European Commission. Hungary currently holds the position of Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, but tensions between Brussels and Budapest are rising due to Hungary’s resistance to Ukraine’s accession.

According to Hungarian Finance Minister Mihály Varga, Hungary has received an additional HUF 184 billion from previously frozen EU funds. Varga pointed out that these funds serve as an ex-post contribution to the wage increases for teachers and kindergarten teachers, which were pre-financed from the budget.

According to Fanni Lajkó, an analyst at the Center for Fundamental Rights, Europe faces two paths in the upcoming June elections: succumbing to pro-war views or rising up to restore the European Union’s original mission as a peace project. The institute held a press conference on Friday, where the Director of EU Research, Attila Kovács, and Fanni Lajkó shared their insights on the latest lead candidate debate.

‘The history of European integration is in fact nothing more than the history of the power struggle of the EU institutions. The powers of the institutions at the core of the current EU have been in a constant state of flux since the beginning of the European project…’

The European Parliamentary election is taking place next month, and our print magazine has just released a special issue all about the major political event. Among other excellent pieces we have Fidesz co-founder, MP Zsolt Németh writing about Brussels and Budapest accusing each other of failing to live up to the Union’s democratic values; as well as President of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs Gladden Pappin looking the parallels between the foundation of the United States of America and the attempted foundation of a ‘United States of Europe’. You can pick up the latest edition of Hungarian Conservative magazine at your local bookstore or newspaper stand, or you can subscribe to our quarterly magazine on our website to make sure you never miss an issue.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in a stable but very serious condition after he was shot at point-blank range by a 71-year-old perpetrator, described as a poet and political activist in media reports, on Wednesday afternoon. The international community responded with shock to the news of the attempted assassination, as world leaders expressed their support for Slovakia.

The European Broadcasting Union has not invited the right-wing Identity and Democracy and the European Conservatives and Reformists to the EP election debate scheduled for 23 May. The decision, explained on ridiculous grounds, is yet another sign that what is at stake at the upcoming European elections is to defend freedom of speech against the left-wing progressive dictatorship of opinion.

The European Parliament (EP) elections to be held from 6 to 9 June 2024 will be the tenth opportunity in the history of the integration for EU citizens to come to the polls. Whether Ursula von der Leyen remains President of the European Commission is still uncertain, with several other possible candidates emerging.

Despite minimal action from the Polish government under Donald Tusk, the European Commission has chosen to conclude the Article 7 procedure against Poland. This serves as another clear example of the double standards that Brussels applies to member states.

Ursula von der Leyen, in a video message posted on social media, stated: ‘Twenty years ago, our family finally united in a common home.’ She also reminded that Hungary has always been situated in the heart of Europe.

Ursula von der Leyen has signalled her willingness to depart from current practices and collaborate with the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) political group should she secure a second term as Commission President. Von der Leyen unveiled this idea during her speech at the Maastricht Debate on Monday, a move that has stirred considerable backlash from the traditional allies of the EPP.

‘Elite structures tend to consolidate a prevailing view whether that be the dictatorship of the proletariat or the dictatorship of the ‘trahison des clercs’ of Brussels. There seems to be no leadership in Europe; a reflection of the growing bureau government of Brussels. Europe, the crucible of nation states since the Treaty of Westphalia (1648), is in crisis. It is the days of Weimar all over again. A resurgent right, a distrust of the organs of democracy. When representative democracy is exposed as leaderless and corruption, there is an inevitable pushback.’

Hungary strongly opposes Dutch PM Mark Rutte’s candidacy. There are alternatives to Rutte, however; candidates that might not enjoy widespread support as of now but are less divisive. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, for one, recently announced his candidacy for the role. But Hungary’s endorsement of President Iohannis is not self-evident, considering that Klaus accused the Romanian Socialist Democratic Party and the Hungarian minority party UDMR of conspiring ‘to give Transylvania to Hungary’ during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After vetoing the call for a ceasefire in Gaza in February, Hungary ultimately subscribed to a joint statement on 21 March for the first time since the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war. Thus, EU leaders have unanimously called for ‘an immediate humanitarian halt leading to a sustainable ceasefire’ in Gaza.

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’.

The European Commission proposes starting accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced on Tuesday in Strasbourg. Issues being discussed at the European Parliament Plenary also include the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and European security, among others.

Didier Reynders told the European Parliament that Hungary will not receive any funds from the Recovery Fund until specific reforms are enacted. The challenge for Hungary lies in the continual imposition of new conditions by Brussels, some of which are impossible to meet.

As the European Parliament elections approach, Manfred Weber, President of the European People’s Party, has entered campaign mode, with a focus on demonizing Viktor Orbán and the European right. Meanwhile, speculation continues regarding which political group Fidesz will align with in the next EP.