Viktor Orbán: We have begun preparations for the EU Presidency

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced on Wednesday that Hungary has begun preparations for the EU Presidency, the Hungarian State News Agency, MTI reports. Referring to Hungary's turn to hold the rotating presidency in the second half of 2024, he said that there was no shortage of experience and preparation, as his government was preparing for its second presidency, which was almost unprecedented in Europe.

The Prime Minister thanked his colleagues from the European Council's Secretariat-General, Didier Seeuws, Director-General for General and Institutional Policy, and Agnieszka Bartol, Director-General for Communication for their visit to Budapest, where they shared their experiences with Hungarian ministers at a preparatory meeting.

As Euractiv reported a few days ago, the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) called on the Austrian government to defend Hungary's presidency of the Council of the European Union next year. However, a European Parliament resolution adopted last Thursday questioned the Hungarian government's suitability to lead the EU's joint decision-making body in the second half of 2024. We wrote in detail about the implications of the rotating presidency and concerns about Hungary's second term in the presidency in this article.