The Hungarian Presidency of the Council will have to wait until the end of the year for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to present his programme, ‘Make Europe Great Again’, to the European Parliament.
The attempts of the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbánto address MEPs at the opening plenary session of the newly elected Strasbourg assembly have been rejected by parliamentary bosses, unable to find room to include it on the agenda, two sources familiar with the matter have told ‘Euronews’. affair.
According to a long-standing convention, heads of government have the opportunity to address Parliament when they assume the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, presenting the agenda for his six-month shift leading intergovernmental political negotiations and answering questions from MEPs.
The sources said Orbán had indicated to Parliament that he could appear before the plenary session on Tuesday or Wednesday (July 16-17) of next week to present the agenda of the Hungarian Presidencyto which Budapest has given the motto ‘Let’s make Europe great again’.
However, the Conference of Presidents – the heads of the political groups that determine the agenda – said that Parliament had no space on the agenda at that timeBoth sources agreed.
A busy schedule
The first source told ‘Euronews’ that Parliament’s activity is busier than usual, and blamed the Council for not having heeded the European Parliament’s warnings about the calendar of the european elections.
“Five years ago, in 2019, we were able to accommodate the incoming Finnish Presidency during the last summer plenum because the elections were held in May, which allowed us to hold two plenums before the summer,” the source said. “We warn that an election in June would have consequences for our calendar”.
The first source added that the new Parliament needed to be formed voting for the president and the 14 vice presidentsfor which you must have Tuesday and Wednesday available.
Thursday is reserved for the confirmation vote on the new appointment of Ursula von der Leyen as president of the European Commission. On Friday, although theoretically available, was not possible for Orbán, according to the first source.
The agenda for next week’s plenary session will close this Thursday (July 11) during a conference of the presidents of the parliamentary groups. “There may be a last minute accommodation”added the first source.
But a spokesperson confirmed that the July plenary sessions were reserved for “the constitution of Parliament and the election of the President of the European Commission (pending confirmation by the Conference of Presidents on Thursday).”
Therefore, the Hungarian Presidency is unlikely to present its program to MEPs before Septemberthe spokesperson told ‘Euronews’.
uncomfortable friendships
Orbán has proclaimed himself the only EU leader who maintains friendly relations with the two most important authoritarian governments in the worldand in recent days he has made unexpected visits to Russia y China to discuss a peace agreement for Ukraine, after meeting with the Ukrainian president in kyiv. The Hungarian politician is in the United States to attend the summit of the 75th anniversary of NATO.
Orbán’s visit to Moscow sparked condemnation of Ukraine and other European leadersbut the Hungarian prime minister justified the trip as a rapprochement effort. “The number of countries that can talk to the two opposing sides is decreasing”, said. “Hungary is slowly becoming the only country in Europe that can talk to everyone.” Hungarian Government Spokespersons they did not respond to a request for comment.
