The first European summit, chaired by António Costa as President of the European Council, will take place during the Hungarian Presidency of the European Union (EU) in December, and Budapest has already promised “good faith cooperation” despite it being “short”, acting as a “honest intermediary.”
“As he will only take over as President of the European Council in the last month of our mandate (December), our time for cooperation will be short, but the first European Council under the presidency of António Costa will take place during the Hungarian presidency,” he said, Hungarian Ambassador to the EU Ódor Bálint told Lusa in an interview.
In this interview, which precedes the start of Hungary’s six-month European leadership by controversial Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s Permanent Representative to the EU emphasizes: “As Presidency, we will act as honest brokers, cooperating in good faith with all member states and institutions. “.
The post comes days after EU heads of state and government elected former Prime Minister António Costa as President of the European Council for a two-and-a-half-year term starting on 1 December 2024, becoming the first Portuguese and first Socialist to hold office since the 2009 European institutional reform.
Even before the start of Hungary’s presidency, Budapest caused controversy in Brussels by choosing as its motto for this term the slogan “Make Europe Great Again,” similar to the “slogan” used by former US President Donald Trump in his 2016 presidential campaign.
In an interview with Lusa, Odor Balint downplays the criticism: “After many years, we have finally created a ‘slogan’ for the presidency that people will remember.”
“The slogan has sparked debate in both political circles and the media, and it is good that it has stimulated a substantive political discussion about the nature, purpose and future of the EU. The desire of the Hungarian presidency to be an active president,” says the person in charge.
This choice of topic came just a few months before the US presidential election scheduled for November, and when Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was on good terms with Donald Trump, who could again become President of the United States.
Regarding the Hungarian priorities, Ódor Bálint also told Lusa that they were defined in line with “the need to respond to the important challenges currently facing the community.”
Priorities therefore include the fight against illegal migration, a new European Competitiveness Pact, strengthening European defence policy, focusing on a coherent and merit-based enlargement policy, especially targeting the Western Balkans, sovereignty and food security, the future of cohesion policy, improving the EU’s economy-oriented agricultural policy and responses to demographic challenges.
However, outside this range are efforts to bring the EU closer to Ukraine, given Hungary’s known opposition to this process of enlargement and assistance to Kyiv, but Odor Balint tells Lusa that Budapest will “closely monitor the development of the war” caused by the Russian invasion and will continue to “work in the Council on the necessary measures.”
At a time when the EU is witnessing an institutional transition, given the changes in European institutions due to the new mandate after the European elections, and when member states are faced with challenges such as competitiveness, defense and migration, Hungary assumes the rotating presidency of the Council . from July to December 2024.
After Hungary, Poland will hold the EU presidency twice a year in the first half of 2025, followed by Denmark in the second half of the same year.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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