Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán addressed
the European Parliament this week, outlining his country's
priorities for its presidency of the EU Council. Met with
overwhelming criticism, he argued that political shifts in EU
member states indicate that the bloc's climate might sooner or
later shift in his favour.
On Wednesday, nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
addressed the European Parliament in the French city of
Strasbourg to present the priorities of his country while
halfway through holding the rotating presidency of the Council
of the European Union - amidst heavy criticism of Hungary's
politics at home and abroad.
Among other things, Orbán made his case for "change" in Europe.
He called it the "most serious period" in EU history, with the
Ukraine war on its doorsteps, escalating conflict in the Middle
East and a "migration crisis" he said could cause the Schengen
open border system to "fall apart."
A day earlier, Orbán - briefly interrupted by a protester -
doubled down on his maverick foreign policy, telling reporters
Kyiv was headed for defeat and that "we need a new strategy" on
Ukraine.
Orbán's parliament debate, attended by European Commission
President Ursula von der Leyen, has been twice delayed. The
European Parliament had been warming up for weeks for an
appearance fuelled by the constant tension between the Hungarian
government and the MEPs.
EU-Hungary relations
In July, Hungary took over the six-months-long rotating
presidency of the Council of the European Union that lasts until
the end of the year. Right after assuming the presidency, Orbán
went off script: embarking on an unsanctioned Ukraine "peace
mission" to Kyiv, Moscow and Beijing that sparked fury in
Brussels.
Orbán's rogue diplomacy prompted European Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen to order top officials to skip a string of
meetings organised by Hungary's presidency - an unprecedented de
facto boycott.
Reasons for the discontent with Hungary and Orbán include
repeated accusations of misusing EU funds, to the initiation of
legal proceedings against Hungary over alleged non-compliance
with EU law and a recent European Court of Justice (EJC) fine
worth millions over these breaches. Another factor disgruntling
many is Hungary's closeness to Russia as well as its repeated
vetoes when it comes to EU aid for war-torn Ukraine.
Since returning to lead his country in 2010, Orbán has moved to
curb civil rights and tighten his grip on power, repeatedly
clashing with Brussels over rule-of-law issues. Many independent
media outlets in Hungary have either gone out of business or
been turned into pro-government organs, while public media have
been forced to toe the line of the ruling right-wing populist
and national-conservative Fidesz party.
Ukraine, migration, competitiveness, agriculture and more
In Strasbourg, Orbán opened by depicting a continent in turmoil.
With the war in Ukraine on its doorstep and an acute "migration
crisis", he argued that "the European Union needs to change". He
further touched on subjects like Europe's competitiveness,
agriculture, the shortcomings of the green transition and
threats to the continent but did not deliver major political
messages in his opening speech.
The three-and-a-half hour session became a standoff between the
bulk of EU lawmakers denouncing Orbán's "autocratic rule" - and
a hard-right minority who joined him in rejecting the
accusations as "absurd".
Photo-op protests were staged outside the hemicycle by the
various political groups. "No cash for corrupt", read one banner
held up by left-wing lawmakers - in a reference to the billions
of Euro in EU funds for Hungary currently frozen over
rule-of-law concerns.
Swings at Orbán
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking
right after the Hungarian premier, harshly criticised him on all
fronts: from his silence on Ukraine and closeness to Russian
president Vladimir Putin to his migration policy, as well as
competitiveness or the energy that Budapest has continued to buy
from Russian sources despite the international context.
She denounced Budapest's hampering of Western efforts to arm
Ukraine against Moscow's offensive. "There is only one path to
achieve a just peace for Ukraine and for Europe, we must
continue to empower Ukraine's resistance with political,
financial and military support," she said.
Taking aim at Orbán's approach to migration, von der Leyen asked
the Hungarian premier why he released more than a thousand
convicted people smugglers and human traffickers. "This is not
fighting illegal migration in Europe," von der Leyen said in her
speech. "This is just throwing problems over your neighbour's
fence."
She described a Hungarian visa scheme for Russian nationals as
"a back door for foreign interference".
Hungary has followed the Netherlands' move last month to request
an opt-out from the EU's common migration and asylum policy.
Budapest wrote to the EU's home affairs commissioner Ylva
Johansson on Monday requesting an exemption from the rules,
Hungary's minister for European Union affairs, János Bóka, said
on Facebook.
Also speaking in Strasbourg, Slovak European Commission
Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič admitted that this was one of the
most politically challenging debates he had ever experienced in
the European Parliament.
"I think that it is just underlining how many problems, how many
open issues, how many difficulties and challenges are on the
table," he said. He pointed out that the EU had shown the utmost
solidarity during the recent floods in Hungary and that the
Union had always stood by the country.
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