1. The Hungarian EU presidency aims to show the way for making a peaceful, safe, strong, and prosperous Europe, founded on member states engaged in fruitful cooperation
In the European Parliament elections held on June 6–9, European voters expressed their will and rejected several policy proposals (including the Green Transition) that faced a legitimacy crisis. As a result, the Left has 170 seats, the center-left 136, the Right 319, and the Independents 95 out of 720. At the same time, informal discussions on the top posts suggest that the EPP is opening to the liberal parties, which have lost ground in European politics, rather than to right-wing parties, although they have been strengthening.
The program of the Hungarian EU presidency reflects the concerns that are now emerging in Europe, in consideration of the realities in the EU and its neighborhood. Considering this, the priorities of the Hungarian Presidency are strengthening the EU’s competitiveness; developing defense capabilities; promoting enlargement to the Western Balkans; tackling illegal migration; shaping the future of cohesion policy; a farmer-centered EU agricultural policy; and addressing demographic challenges.
2. With the EU now lagging economically, competitiveness is a top priority. The EU needs strong global connections in order to recover its economic standing
The changed geopolitical environment has brought to the fore the need to strengthen and build mutually beneficial partnerships and effective multilateralism. Hungary will seek to facilitate new partnerships during its presidency.
The EU lacks a comprehensive approach to the Far East, even though the Indo-Pacific strategy is in the making, and Chinese investments are growing, particularly in the industrial space, and are vital for increasing competitiveness all across the continent. Creating the EU’s China policy needs a pragmatic and balanced approach, not denying the risks, but also exploiting the opportunities.
The MENA region also needs the attention of European leaders. Not just because the stability of our imminent neighborhood is essential regarding our security, but also because of the potential in enhancing trade relations with the Gulf countries rich in energy resources.
3. To make Europe great again, we also need credible and strong defense capabilities, beginning with a better defense industrial base and better EU-level cooperation
As the official program of the presidency states, “Europe needs to significantly improve its defense capabilities, international crisis response, and capacity. To this end, it must play a greater role in guaranteeing its security and strengthening its resilience and capacity to act.” The European Union needs to strengthen the industrial and technological base of the European defense sector, including defense innovation and enhancing defense procurement cooperation between member states. There are three key fields worth paying attention to during the Hungarian Presidency: the EU’s military response and crisis management capabilities; enhancing the effectiveness of European military capability development; and promoting defense innovation.
For Hungary, there are two particularly important areas in security and defense policy. First is the stability of the Western Balkans, thus the KFOR contribution in the framework of NATO, and the EUFOR Althea mission in the EU is considered to be the largest contribution to international missions by the Hungarian Defense Force. Due to the historically good work in stabilizing the Western Balkan region, we shall expect the Hungarian Presidency to put more emphasis on the southeast neighborhood and facilitate further supportive steps on the EU level.
Hungary also has a good track record on international aid and development—consider the Hungary Helps program, which revealed the importance of the fragile states in the Sahel region, the most probable source of immigration, crime, and even terrorism. To help the last remaining bastions of this region, Budapest looks for cooperation with the government of Chad on a bilateral level but is also expected to put this issue in the limelight during the presidency period.
4. A merit-based approach to EU enlargement is needed, with special attention to the accession of the Western Balkans
The EU has a fundamental interest in the stability of the Western Balkans and the Presidency will therefore support the deepening of concrete cooperation projects with the Western Balkans. Organizing an EU-Western Balkans summit in the region during the presidency period could increase the political visibility of those candidate countries that are ready for the accession. To decide who is ready for accession should be managed by a merit-based approach and the EU should stop constantly changing the expectations and conditions for those who work hard to comply with the rules and regulations in the past 10–15 years. The credibility of the EU is at stake, and Hungary is ready to navigate through the stakeholders through this process, at the end of which they can rejoin Europe, where they belong.
5. Europe’s neglected issues—mass migration, farmer-friendly agriculture, and demographic challenges—must be addressed for the EU to have a successful future
The devastating war in Ukraine caused a double challenge for Europe, which has also had serious problems in the past to start with. First, the increasing energy prices, and the collapse of supply chains made it impossible to sustain the subsidy-based agricultural policy. European farmers literally could not afford the heavy price of fuel, expecting less and less profit rates. The demographic decline also remained a problem that hit European economies and decreased competitiveness. However, the Willkommenskultur, which brings further social problems, increasing crime rates are not the solution for these problems. Family support policies similar to those introduced in Hungary could be considered by other countries, and Europe needs to take back control over its borders at the same time. Hungary believes that the recently adopted Migration Pact is far from complete and a lot of relevant issues still remain to be resolved.
The Hungarian Presidency will continue to work based on previous European Council decisions and guidelines. To achieve a peace that ends the war, it is necessary to continue the global coordination and support work that has already begun, to ensure the widest possible international support.
Written by Péter Stepper & Ágnes Vass