Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has long been accused of dismantling democratic institutions and violating EU rule of law standards, prompting parliament to call in May to completely remove the presidency from Hungary’s hands.
Hungary has held the rotating presidency of the European Union since Monday, and some MEPs in Brussels are wondering whether Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will use his role to enhance his reputation as the bloc’s chief troublemaker. In recent years, Orbán has blocked or delayed many key EU decisions, routinely going against most other leaders on issues such as the war in Ukraine and relations with Russia and China.
Its often outspoken opposition to the policies and positions commonly held by other member states has long frustrated its partners in the bloc.
Hungary’s motto for its presidency – Make Europe Great Again – has raised eyebrows in some quarters because of its similarity to the famous slogan used by former US President Donald Trump.
The EU presidency – Euronews reports – rotates among the bloc’s member countries and, although the position has little real power, it allows them to put their respective priorities at the top of the European agenda.
Therefore, some political analysts suspect that Hungary will try to use this position to strengthen its ideas and political program.
Already on Sunday, the Hungarian Prime Minister announced in Vienna the formation of a new far-right coalition, Patriots of Europe, with the nationalist parties of the Austrian FPO leader, Herbert Kickl, and the Czech Andrej Babiš, who leads ANO.
The new alliance aims to create a new group in the European Parliament to bring together the continent’s radical right parties with one goal: to put an end to the project of a liberal EU.
However, the Hungarian presidency’s timetable, which begins with a long summer break and a transition period for the formation of a new European Parliament and Commission, should give Budapest little opportunity to significantly derail the bloc’s priorities.
“These six months are not that long, which means that Hungary cannot potentially do much wrong, even according to critics,” said Dorka Takácsy, a researcher at the Centre for Euro-Atlantic Integration and Democracy.
To dispel any doubts, however, Brussels leaders rushed to push ahead with important political decisions while Belgium still held the rotating presidency: accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova were launched last week.
The position on Kiev itself, since February 24, has created no small amount of conflict between the member states and the Hungarian prime minister, who has already expressed his opposition to Ukraine’s candidacy and threatened to block it, after having already hindered efforts to unblock the funding it needs.
“All significant steps on the European side regarding Ukraine have already been taken,” Takácsy said.
“A Hungarian delay, according to most European leaders, is already calculated and taken into account as if it were something that is very likely to happen.”
Orbán has long been accused of dismantling democratic institutions and violating EU standards on the rule of law, with the European Parliament calling in May for Hungary to be stripped of the presidency; in a resolution, it argued that democratic shortcomings raise doubts about “how Hungary will be able to credibly carry out this task in 2024”.
Two years ago, the European Commission froze billions of euros in funds to Budapest for fear of a democratic backlash.
But some Hungarian officials have stressed that they intend to act constructively during their presidency.
