Hungary on Thursday condemned an upcoming vote in the European Parliament on a draft resolution that found Budapest ineligible for the EU presidency next year because of its failure to uphold the rule of law.
The resolution “raises the question of how reliably Hungary can fulfill this task in 2024, given its failure to respect EU law and (EU) values”. He asks member states to “find an appropriate solution as soon as possible” to prevent Hungary from taking over the six-monthly presidency, scheduled for the second half of next year.
On June 1, MEPs will vote on the resolution proposed by five groups in the European Parliament – the conservative EPP, the socialist S&D, the liberal Renew, the Greens and the far left GUE/NGL.
Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga called the decision an “anti-Hungarian initiative”.
“Let’s make it clear that the EU presidency is not a right, but a duty,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “What we promised we will do honestly, no one can take that away from us.”
Earlier, the head of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s administration, Gergely Gulyas, said “the EU has no legal option” to prevent Hungary from holding the EU presidency.
“If the European Parliament takes such a decision, it is as binding as the decision of the Azerbaijani Parliament,” G. Gulyas told reporters in Budapest.
But Daniel Freund, a member of the German Green Party who was an outspoken critic of Orbán, said he “doesn’t think Orbán deserves such a podium” and called the Hungarian leader an “autocrat”.
“He doesn’t respect our values, he doesn’t respect our democracy,” Freund tweeted, adding that the EP might “refuse to interact” with the planned Hungarian presidency.
“Allowing (Orban), essentially (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s best friend, to preside at a time when there is a war in Ukraine, I think, puts the security of the EU at risk,” he said. -he declares.
Since the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine, V. Orban has refused to send military aid to Kiev, opposes EU sanctions against Russia and maintains ties with the Kremlin, and is constantly in conflict with Brussels on various issues, from media and judicial independence to migration and LGBTQ rights.
And the EU remains frozen in funding billions of euros in Budapest due to doubts over the rule of law and corruption.
Source: The Delfi
