The EU’s half-yearly rotating presidency is moving to Hungary in the second half of next year.
Hungary on Thursday presented his objection to the proposal that will be voted on in the European Parliament, according to which the Prime Minister Viktor Orbán Hungary is not suitable for the presidency of the EU.
According to the proposal, the reason for this is Hungary’s rule of law problems. The motion urges member states to find a way to avoid Hungary’s upcoming presidency. According to the EU’s calendar cycle, the six-month presidency would pass to Hungary in the second half of next year.
“If it happens that Orban really takes over the presidency of the European Council in 2024, the European Parliament must consider giving him a curfew. We do not negotiate legislation with autocrats,” said Hungary’s leading critic in the European Parliament, Germany’s Green MEP Daniel Freund on Twitter.
Hungarian Minister of Justice Judit Varga criticized the motion, calling it an “anti-Hungarian initiative”.
“Let’s make this clear: the EU presidency is not a right, but an obligation. As we have promised, we will fulfill our duty, no one can take it away from us,” Varga said in a Facebook post.
Prime Minister Orbán’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, said earlier that it is not legally possible for the EU to prevent Hungary from taking over the presidency.
“If the European Parliament made such a decision, it would be as binding as if the Parliament of Azerbaijan made it,” Gulyás told reporters.
Orbán’s Hungary, led by Orbán has refused to give military aid to Ukraine and has opposed sanctions against Russia.
Due to Hungary’s rule of law problems and corruption concerns, the EU has frozen billions of euros in funding allocated to Hungary.
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