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bne August 2024 Central Europe I 37
of radical right-wing forces in the EP election but this failed to materialise and his own party won fewer seats than five years ago.
Following the disappointing election result, Orban singled out EPP leader Manfred Weber as an old-new nemesis, calling him a 'Hungarophobe' a few days after Weber's trip to Budapest
to welcome Orban’s new rival, Peter Magyar's Tisza Party and its seven new members to the EPP.
The future of the 11 MEPs of Fidesz hangs in the balance. Orban was hoping for a resurgence of right-wing parties and that Marine Le Pen’s ID party and the ECR led by Giorgia Meloni would cooperate. Instead, after Meloni turned down his request to join the ECR, Orban began to seek partners to set up his alliance with the support of his political allies in the V4 countries of Central Europe. Orban has reportedly tried
to lure former Polish prime minister Mateus Morawiecki to leave Meloni's party, but it remains unknown whether he will succeed.
In the meantime after a diplomatic marathon over the past few days, Hungary's nationalist leader on June 30, just a day before Hungary takes over at the helm of the Council, announced the formation of a new EU parliamentary alliance with Austria's far-right party FPO and the Czech populist group of ex-prime minister Andrej Babis. In
the manifesto presented on Sunday, the Patriots for Europe outlined the vision for a Europe consisting of strong, independent nations that reject further centralisation of power in Brussels and upholds national sovereignty.
Goals of the presidency
Permanent Representative of Hungary to the EU Balint Odor said the country’s presidency will be like any other. "We will be honest mediators, we will try to cooperate sincerely with EU countries and institutions", he said.
EU Affairs Minister Janos Boka in mid-June presented seven priorities
for the next six months: improving competitiveness, common defence, and
the defence of external borders, as well as advancing enlargement and promoting cohesion policies, agriculture, and addressing demographic problems.
Hungary, which itself ranks at the bottom end of the EU in competitiveness, aims to draft a new European competitiveness
Hungary, however, will not promote Ukraine's and Moldova's accession negotiations.
The decision to give Ukraine candidate status hence was brought forward by the Belgian presidency and the next aid package has also been cleared as EU
“In preparation for the presidency, Viktor Orban signalled that he wanted to make the issue
of migration a focal point of the forthcoming presidency and seek to increase funding for this purpose”
pact before the end of 2024, which would include giving incentives to the spread of EVs. It includes the development of a technology-neutral industrial strategy, support for SMEs, and promotion
of green and digital transitions. Budapest could evaluate the need for targeted, European-level intervention to strengthen the common EU defence system.
The Hungarian presidency will likely oversee the adoption of the "VAT in the Digital Age" proposal package of the European Commission. Hungary has made headway in the fight against the black economy, bringing the VAT gap down significantly and introducing tools such as invoicing or cash registers, or electronic reporting of transport goods to combat fraud.
The enlargement of the EU will also be a top priority, with a focus on West Balkan countries and not Ukraine or Moldova.
According to Budapest, integrating Western Balkan countries is a vital economic interest as well as a political and security need. Hungary’s diplomacy has slammed the EU for the delay
in talks with these countries. The Hungarian presidency plans to organise an EU-Western Balkans Summit in the region and to hold intergovernmental conferences with candidate countries when appropriate.
members feared that Budapest, which has obstructed the disbursement of EU funds to help arm Ukraine, would block Kyiv’s accession talks.
Intergovernmental conferences with all five Western Balkan candidates
are on the table, including opening new chapters with Serbia, closing at least seven chapters with Montenegro, opening initial chapters with Albania, establishing a negotiation framework with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and starting talks with North Macedonia’s new pro-integration government.
In preparation for the presidency, Viktor Orban signalled that he wanted to make the issue of migration a focal point of the forthcoming presidency and seek to increase funding for this purpose.
The fight against illegal migration has been a cornerstone of Orban’s policy since the 2015 migration crisis and a recurring theme of his campaigns against his opponents at home and in the EU.
To improve the resilience of the Common European Asylum System, the Hungarian Presidency will encourage member states to exchange views on innovative solutions in the field of asylum, the detailed plan of the presidency reads.
Demography has been an important talking point of Hungary's ruling
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