Hungary takes on EU presidency amid concerns

Hungary takes over the EU’s rotating presidency on Monday (1 July), promising to be an “honest broker” despite widespread concerns over what critics see as an authoritarian, Russia-friendly government.

Nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has run the central European country since 2010 aiming to transform it into an “illiberal democracy”, frequently clashes with Brussels over rule-of-law and human rights issues.

He is also the only EU leader who has maintained ties with Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine. He has refused to send arms to Kyiv and repeatedly slammed sanctions against Moscow over the war.

Last year, the European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution highlighting Hungary’s “backsliding” on democratic values, and questioning how it could “credibly” assume the bloc’s six-month presidency.

‘Occupy Brussels’

Budapest insists it is ready to assume “the duties and responsibilities” steering the bloc of 27 countries.

“We will be honest brokers, working loyally with all member states and institutions,” Hungarian EU Affairs Minister Janos Boka said in mid-June as he unveiled the presidency’s programme.

“At the same time, we believe Hungary has a strong mandate to pursue a strong European policy. Our work will reflect this vision of Europe,” he added.

Hungary’s programme slogan? “Make Europe Great Again” — echoing the rallying cry of Orbán’s “good friend” former US president Donald Trump — which already caused a stir in Brussels.

After Hungary last held the EU presidency in 2011, Orbán boasted about handing out “flicks,” “smacks,” and “friendly slaps” to the “excitable tormentors” of the European Parliament.

This time, the nationalist leader, 61, is even more combative, having vowed to “occupy Brussels” during the campaign for European elections in early June, banking on a right-wing breakthrough.

But even though far-right parties made gains, Orbán’s Fidesz party currently stands isolated, unable to find a group in the European Parliament that suits it.

On Sunday, Orbán announced he wanted to form his own group, together with Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) and the centrist ANO party of ex-Czech premier Andrej Babiš.

They still need parties from at least four other countries to join them.

Last week, Orbán failed to derail a deal to return Ursula von der Leyen as head of the powerful European Commission and two others from a centrist alliance taking the other top jobs.

Meanwhile, von der Leyen put off a courtesy visit to Budapest, originally planned for the presidency opening. A new date has not been set.

Limited opportunities

To garner support for Hungary’s programme, Orbán toured key European capitals last week.

Among the country’s seven priorities for its EU presidency are stemming “illegal migration” and bringing the Western Balkans countries “one step closer” to EU membership.

Orbán can use the presidency to set the agenda, but he cannot achieve results without the commission’s support, Daniel Hegedus, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund told AFP.

He also noted that the Hungarian premier has limited opportunity to act as a spoiler, as the outgoing Belgian presidency and EU institutions have rushed to conclude important decisions.

Last week, the European Union adopted a fresh sanction package against Russia and formally launched “historic” accession talks with Ukraine.

“Everybody was striving to reduce instability, thus restricting the room for manoeuvre for the Hungarian presidency,” Hegedus said.

But more “trolling on the communication front” is to be expected, he added.

Tussles with Brussels

Among Hungary’s battles with Brussels, Budapest is looking to unlock billions of euros in EU funds frozen over issues including LGBTQ rights, the treatment of asylum seekers and public procurement.

The Hungarian prime minister is the only EU leader who has maintained close ties with Moscow despite its invasion of Ukraine.

Orbán refused to send arms to Kyiv and has called for a ceasefire and peace negotiations, saying he was “fighting for peace alone” in the EU.

The Hungarian prime minister has also slammed sanctions against Russia and opposes Ukraine’s EU ambitions, though he has stopped short of blocking accession talks.

Under a policy of “eastern opening”, Orbán has also sought close ties with China.

Against right to asylum

A proponent of the “great replacement” narrative, which claims that there is a plot to supplant white Europeans with non-white immigrants, Orbán rails against immigration and has heavily restricted the right to asylum, saying he wants to defend a “Christian Europe”.

In June, the EU’s top court fined Hungary 200 million euros and imposed a daily one-million-euro penalty for failing to follow the bloc’s asylum laws and illegally deporting migrants — a decision Budapest slammed as “unacceptable”.

Having erected barbed-wire border fences in response to a surge in migration in 2015, Orbán’s government also opposes the bloc’s recent overhaul of its laws on handling asylum-seekers and migrants.

Hungary’s ‘illiberal’ turn

Since coming back to power, Orbán has moved to transform his country into what he calls an “illiberal democracy”.

The wide-ranging changes he has made include curbs on press freedom and judicial independence.

He has also clamped down on LGBTQ rights, with a law banning the promotion of homosexuality to minors drawing EU infringement proceedings.

Billions of euros in EU funds remain frozen over issues including LGBTQ rights, the treatment of asylum seekers, alleged corruption in public procurement and the independence of academics.

Most recently, Brussels also launched infringement proceedings against Hungary over the creation of what critics say is a Russian-style agency with investigative powers to curb foreign influence.

In 2018, the European Parliament voted to trigger an “Article 7” disciplinary procedure against Hungary — which could end with it being stripped of its right to vote in EU proceedings — to determine whether Budapest is undermining European legal standards and democratic values.

Corruption rife

In 2022, the European Parliament declared that the central European country was no longer a “full democracy”, but a “hybrid regime of electoral autocracy” in “serious breach” of EU democratic norms.

Critics often cite corruption to illustrate Hungary’s authoritarian drift, accusing Orbán’s family and allies of benefiting from EU funds.

Oligarchs Lorinc Meszaros, Orbán’s childhood friend, and Istvan Tiborcz, Orbán’s son-in-law, today control large sections of the economy.

Transparency International — whose Hungary chapter has come under investigation by the anti-foreign influence agency — ranks Hungary last among EU countries in its corruption index.

Hungary has also not joined the EU’s independent European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), whose job it is to investigate and prosecute EU budget fraud.

(Edited by Georgi Gotev)

Read more with Euractiv