A heated debate was expected from the presentation of the priorities of the Hungarian presidency on the floor of the European Parliament. However, the sharpness of the statement and the harsh address of the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, were a surprise.
Although, according to some MEPs, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán tried to be factual in his opening speech in the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, the debate eventually heated up and focused on Hungarian politics in general. In the reactions, Orbán’s own rhetoric also escalated.
Photo: EU
The growing tension between Hungary, its European partners and the EU institutions has not eased even the three months that have passed since the controversial start of the Hungarian presidency on July 1.
Orbán earned criticism from MEPs, for example, for his weak support for Ukraine or for undermining European unity.
“One could have expected that the debate on the presidency would slip into Hungarian politics. This came true, although Orbán spoke in his speech about important topics such as the need to support competitiveness and the need to solve migration. On the contrary, he ostentatiously tried to avoid his geopolitical ideas about cooperation with Russia and China ,” assessed Czech MEP Ondřej Krutílek from ODS, whose representatives belong to the European Conservatives and Reformists faction in the European Parliament, when asked by the editors.
“But they came to the surface when he responded to the critical speeches of the chairmen of most parliamentary clubs. That’s why the debate was almost exclusively about Hungary and at least about the program of the presidency,” added Krutílek.
According to Czech MEP Klára Dostálové (ANO), who sits in the European Parliament just like the MEPs of Orbán’s Fidesz party in the Patriots for Europe faction, it was cheap and the debate turned into a farce. “What we saw during the negotiations with Prime Minister Orbán is a shameful misuse of the European Parliament for personal attacks and cheap propaganda,” said ČTK.
Unusually sharp von der Leyen
During the debate, Orbán had a sharp exchange with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. In her speech at the plenary session, which followed Orbán’s speech, she addressed the Hungarian prime minister with unusually sharp criticism on the issue of Russian aggression in Ukraine, strengthening European competitiveness and the solution to migration.
“There are still those who do not blame Putin and his desire for power for this war, but Ukraine for their desire for freedom. So I want to ask them, would they ever blame the Hungarians for the Soviet invasion in 1956? What would they blame the Czechs or Slovaks for occupation in 1968?” asked the head of the commission in her speech.
Although she often did not directly name Hungary in her speech, it was clear to whom she was addressing her words. For example, when she talked about competitiveness and the European internal market. “One government in the EU is going in exactly the opposite direction, moving away from the single market. How can a government attract more European investment while at the same time discriminating against European companies by taxing them more than others?”
She also addressed the Hungarian Prime Minister in a similar way in the passage that was devoted to dependence on Russian energy. Orbán also mentioned them in his speech, according to him, the deviation from them threatened the growth of European GDP. “Instead of looking for alternative sources, one member state was only looking for alternative ways to buy fossil fuels from Russia,” von der Leyen emphasized in response to Orbán’s speech.
Mr. Prime Minister, are you not contradicting yourself?
It even happened that the head of the commission turned directly to Viktor Orbán, regarding the issue of the solution to migration.
“Mr. Prime Minister, I heard your words over the weekend. You said that Hungary is ‘protecting its borders’ and that ‘criminals are locked up in Hungary’. I just wonder how this statement fits in with the fact that last year your authorities released convicted smugglers and traffickers before they served their sentence. This is not a fight against illegal migration in Europe. This is just throwing problems over the neighbor’s fence,” von der Leyen said.
After the MEPs also spoke at the plenary session, Orbán took the floor again, describing the discussion as “relatively stormy”. According to him, it is clear that they did not want to discuss the Hungarian presidency “and preferred to organize a political intifada”.
He also defended himself against the words of Ursula von der Leyen. “You, members of the European Parliament, have the right to do that. But what I heard from the President of the European Commission surprised me quite a bit (…) In the past, the President of the European Commission would never have said such things. (…) According to the treaties, the Commission is supposed to be a neutral body . But that has changed now, and rather than the guardian of the treaties, it is a political body and a political weapon that you want to attack the Patriots for Europe group,” he fumed.
Journalists following EU events agree that although heated debates and negotiations occur in Brussels or Strasbourg, today’s was exceptional in its sharpness.
Competitiveness and migration
Orbán appeared before the MEPs with a speech in which he summarized the activities of the EU Council under the Hungarian leadership and the key challenges that Europe is currently facing. He emphasized above all the weak competitiveness of the bloc and the difficulties in dealing with illegal migration.
In the remaining months, according to Orbán, the presidency will focus, for example, on the issue of Schengen expansion and the European Union.
“There is a risk of the Schengen area disintegrating (…) We should organize a regular Schengen summit, where the heads of government and state would meet along the lines of meetings of the Eurozone countries,” he said, adding that Hungary would like to see Bulgaria and Romania in Schengen by the end of the year , which still have partial access to the zone.
According to him, the expansion of the European bloc should continue to depend on the fulfillment of the conditions for joining the EU, and attention should be paid especially to the countries of the Western Balkans. “The key topic of the presidency is the enlargement of the European Union (…) We should focus especially on the integration of Serbia so that the Western Balkans will be stable,” he declared.
“Some countries already meet the requirements, but there is no political will for their accession,” the Hungarian prime minister pointed out to European colleagues who are reluctant to expand the EU.
Weak presidency
According to Orbán, the Hungarian presidency should be a catalyst for the necessary changes in the European Union. However, from the point of view of some MEPs, the Hungarian presidency is weak.
“In his speech, Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán repeated the problems that plague Europe. However, I did not hear any concrete solutions from him. The fact is that the Hungarian presidency is much weaker compared to the last one. And there is nothing to be surprised about. Orbán has put Hungary on the edge of the EU with his attitudes ,” commented Czech People’s MEP Tomáš Zdechovský for ČTK.
According to his parliamentary colleague Krutílka, Orbán is weakening the presidency of his country himself. “Unfortunately, Orbán overshadowed even some reasonable proposals of the Hungarian presidency with his pro-Russian and pro-Chinese rhetoric. It is very difficult for the Hungarian presidency to really enforce anything when the Hungarian prime minister began his term with trips to Moscow and Beijing, which he did not consult with anyone, and then in these autocratic capitals tried to pose as a representative of the EU or a promoter of peace,” he said when asked by the editors.
Therefore, Krutílek does not have high expectations for the upcoming weeks of the Hungarian presidency, which will end on December 31 this year. “I assume that the rest of the presidency will take place in the same way as before, when even reasonable proposals will remain in the shadow of Orbán’s foreign policy orientation,” he added.
Video: “Incredible condescending impudence.” Havlíček leaned on the European Union because of Orbán (July 18, 2024)
Spotlight Aktuálně.cz – Karel Havlíček | Video: Team Spotlight