Further bad news on Hungary and the EU

HUNGARY - In Brief 30 Apr 2018 by Istvan Racz

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Over the past week, the following pieces of bad news hit the screens regarding the relations between Hungary and the EU:1. In the middle of last week, the European Parliament's internal affairs committee (LIBE) held a debate of the committee's draft report on the state of affairs in Hungary, on which a final vote is expected in June. Hungary's foreign minister Péter Szíjjártó said at the debate that the draft report, which painted a negative picture on the state of democracy and civil rights in Hungary, was a 'qualified collection of lies'. Mr. Szíjjártó spoke so harshly at the meeting that the chairperson directly asked him to moderate his style, to protect the EP's reputation.2. On Thursday April 26, Hungary vetoed the text of the draft agreement prepared for the EU-Africa summit due on May 2, on the occasion of a meeting of member countries' ambassadors to the EU. Paradoxically, the draft agreement would have served to tackle illegal immigration from Africa to Europe, which has been long time the Hungarian government's key foreign policy theme. The Hungarian government demanded that all (according to them: illegal) forms of immigration from Africa should be condemned. Hungary was the only member state which blocked the agreement, not supported on this occasion by any of the CEE members, not even Poland. However, a number of ambassadors protested the fact that the Hungarian government came forward with its objections at an unduly late stage, only days before the scheduled summit, at which the draft agreement would have been announced.3. On April 30, Financial Times published another article on the EU Commission's upcoming budget proposal, which is due to come out on ...