If Hungary’s EU presidency lives up to its responsibility, it will do a great service to the EU as a whole, EU Affairs Minister Janos Boka told current affairs channel M1 on Thursday morning, adding that this primarily lies in getting through the message for change expressed by voters in the European Parliament elections.
In its European policy, Hungary has long been aware of the need, expressed by voters, to bring an end to the bloc’s drifting towards the war, to its economic policy undermining competitiveness and its misguided migration policy that fails to protect the EU's external borders.
Hungary’s EU presidency acts in a politically responsible manner if it tables topics and generates debates on such issues,
Janos Boka said.
Hungary's EU presidency is progressing according to plans, and has even got off with a flying start, the minister said, noting that Prime Minister Viktor Orban took over the presidency from Belgium's prime minister on July 1, met the president of the European Council, held talks with Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv the following day, and received the secretary-general of the Council on Thursday.
The secretary-general's visit to Budapest is of great importance, the minister said, given that every EU presidency has two levels, a political level and a "machinery", which must be run in cooperation with the permanent representation in Brussels and the Council's general secretariat.
Hungary needs to advance 120 legislative dossiers, and there are more than 1,500 working group meetings, 37 council meetings, 16 informal council meetings and a European Political Community summit to organize, deliver and follow up.
The conditions for a good working relationship and cooperation are in place, the minister said.
Speaking about the meeting between Viktor Orban and Volodymyr Zelensky, the minister highlighted that the Hungarian prime minister had immediately reported on the discussions to the president of the European Council and to member states’ heads of state and government.
At the same time, Janos Boka stressed that the role of the country holding the EU presidency is primarily to facilitate the flow of information and to channel the opinions of the parties concerned into the decision-making process, but the decision must be taken by the leaders. It is up to them to determine what room for manoeuvre the EU has in this political situation, which has been explored better than ever thanks to the Hungarian prime minister's activities.
I believe that the Hungarian prime minister has done more for peace in the past 24 hours than European leaders have during the past twelve months,
the EU affairs minister pointed out, adding that during its presidency Hungary can make proposals, raise suggestions and aid processes towards changing the EU's position on the war, but decisions must be taken by European leaders.
The EU sees this war as its own and, besides military and financial support, communication also forms part of the war strategy, the minister said.
If we cannot talk about the war without that communication being part of warfare itself, then we are part of the problem and not the solution,
he said, adding that Viktor Orban wanted to change this approach by talking about working to resolve the war, and this could only be achieved by an immediate ceasefire and peace negotiations based on it.
Viktor Orban and Volodymyr Zelensky agreed on a number of issues that require follow-up, and this should continue at the highest levels, and a possible new high-level meeting can be considered if both the Hungarian and Ukrainian governments have made progress in solving their respective tasks, Janos Boka said.
Regarding meetings during Hungary's six-month presidency, the EU affairs minister highlighted the informal European Council meeting in Budapest scheduled for November, where the goal will be to adopt a new European competitiveness pact to set the path for the EU to halt the decline in its economic competitiveness.
The central priority of Hungary's EU presidency is competitiveness and "if we succeed in adopting a declaration that puts economic policy at the service of growth and prosperity, then the EU may perhaps move under a more fortunate constellation in the next five years," the minister said.
Cover photo: EU Affairs Minister Janos Boka speaks at a press conference in Budapest's Varkert Bazaar on June 18, presenting the official priorities, the logo and social media sites of the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2024. (Photo: MTI/Peter Lakatos)
