19.06.2024 In spite of a number of the European politicians and even parties insisting to strip Hungary of its chairmanship in the EU for an ongoing argument between the Viktor Orban government, and the European Commission, in a few days from July 1 Hungary will start its half-a-year mandate.

The Hungarian civil servants refuse any hints on plagiarism, when answering questions on the the presidency motto: “Let’s make Europe great again!”. While denying obvious similarity with the U.S. MAGA movement, they say that the U.S. 45th President never engaged in “making Europe great”.

The presidency’s slogan is accompanied by a logo of Hungary’s iconic Rubic’s Cube, a 50-year-old invention which is aimed to symbolise Hungarian creativity and innovation.

The Hungarian presidency, which begins on July 1, comes at a time of institutional opening of a new cycle, with a new European Parliament and European Commission top executives. “This is an extraordinary situation, with a war in the neighborhood, when we have to provide stability,” the Hungarian Ambassador to the EU Balint Odor said.

However to provide stability in the EU foreign policy, one should start with the problem-resolutions within the EU. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has already indicated that he cannot agree for another term of the current European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, but the the president of the Commission is appointed by qualified majority, and Hungary cannot veto this decision.

The Hungarian government sees its upcoming presidency as an opportunity to improve the image of the country, and promises to act as an “honest broker”.

Yet the Hungarian presidency could face strong opposition and hard scrutiny being the only EU country facing an Article 7 procedure, meaning the possible suspension of EU membership rights such as voting rights for its “infringement of European fundamental values”.

The main goal of the presidency is to “guarantee peace and security in Europe”, but the top priority is the improvement of the economic situation, namely via competitiveness. The defense industry and joint European defense procurement are also listed in the seven-point programme. The partnership agreements with various countries of origin, and transit to reduce migration are among the seven priorities of the presidency.

Full membership of free-travel Schengen Area for Romania and Bulgaria is also on the agenda high on the agenda.

The enlargement policy, securing cohesion policy, tackling the demographic challenge and presenting a farmer-friendly agricultural policy are among the dossiers to be taken over from the preceding Belgium chairmanship.

Hungary is keen on making progress on enlargement towards Western Balkans. “We want a merit-based and objective enlargement strategy with specific targets in the Western Balkans,”  Ambassador Balint continued.

Although Hungary is no longer blocking the opening of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine, the government does not expect any real progress during the Hungarian presidency.