Magyar: "We will represent Hungary differently"

“We will represent Hungary differently,” Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said at his brief press conference in Brussels on Thursday ahead of the meeting of the European Council. He said it was unlikely that they would be in agreement about everything with the other member states, but he was committed to representing the interests of the Hungarian people in every discussion. Referring to the attitude of Viktor Orbán’s former government, he added:

“We will not fight just for the sake of fighting; whether we agree or veto something here, it will not be for reasons of domestic politics or party-politics, but solely based on the Hungarian interest.”

Prior to these remarks, Magyar mentioned that he had had a meeting with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, during which she assured him that the country would receive all necessary assistance to bring the Article 7 procedure to a close. He then attended a meeting of the heads of state and government of the European People’s Party, followed by a gathering of the “Friends of Cohesion” (the largest beneficiaries of EU funds) organized by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. He had also had a brief discussion with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, and then held consultations with the leaders of the V4 countries.

“I am pleased that they have all accepted my invitation, and we will be able to meet in Budapest and Gödöllő next week, on June 23.” They agreed that it is important to restart the Visegrád coordination and that it is a pity it has not been functioning for years.

In his opinion, Hungary is being welcomed with great anticipation in the EU right now. He said that this will be the first time since March of last year that the Council will adopt a text on enlargement, competitiveness, China, and the seven-year budget. Member states plan to reach an agreement on the latter in December, and the “friends of cohesion” are united on the issue.

In response to a question, he said he was pleased that a political solution had been reached with the European Commission concerning the allocation of 6,000 billion forints in EU funds to Hungary. The necessary legislative amendments are currently underway, which the opposition is trying to block, but “they will not succeed.” Magyar also welcomed the fact that an agreement had been reached with Ukraine regarding the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia. This made it possible to open the first cluster of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine. In his view, the Hungarian government is not alone in its opposition to opening the other clusters.

“Views are divided on the subject of Ukraine’s EU accession; Hungary is advocating a merit-based, performance-based process,” Magyar said when asked about Ukraine’s potential accelerated accession. In his view, the EU cannot bypass the Western Balkan countries—which have been negotiating for years—with a different kind of enlargement process; as that would be neither honest nor pragmatic. “Some might want a different kind of accession process; some would open everything immediately; and some would open only two chapters,” he said, noting that the Hungarian government is among the member states which would proceed more slowly. There will need to be unanimity; “it’s difficult to find a compromise among 27 member states, but I remember instances in the past when it was achieved,” said the Prime Minister.

“The devil is in the details,” he said, referring to the upcoming Council conclusions. “Old-timers” like Robert Fico and Donald Tusk told Magyar that Council meetings are never boring—“you have to stay alert, pay attention, and it’s not worth going out for coffee”—he said, referring to Viktor Orbán’s legendary absence in 2023. Magyar said that he won’t be leaving the room, no matter how long the night ends up being.

In response to a question from Telex, he said they are working to find a solution to the subject of the €1 million-per-day fine before the European Court of Justice. There will be a meeting on Friday in Brussels among representatives of countries with strict immigration policies. He said that when this whole affair began, the legal framework and the mood were different in Europe. Member states opposed to migration will also be holding a meeting. “We must work to find a solution that achieves what the previous government was aiming for, but without having to pay the fine", he said, promising that as soon as the draft legislation is ready, they will communicate about it. He brought up the subject of the planned migrant camp in Vitnyéd again, then said that he would not allow illegal migrants to enter the country, but he also plans to tighten restrictions on legal immigration. “Under the Orbán government, this affair cost the country 1 billion euros, or approximately 400 billion forints,” but according to Magyar, the current government—formed barely a month ago—is doing everything it can to minimize damage and put out fires in order to secure EU funds.

A day filled with meetings

As previously reported, the first EU summit in 16 years at which Hungary is not represented by Viktor Orbán (or Robert Fico, whom Orbán once asked to represent him) is kicking off on Thursday evening. Péter Magyar is joining the 27 heads of state and government in Brussels just as the debate over the EU’s multiannual budget—a recurring issue every seven years that typically culminates in meetings lasting several days—is beginning to intensify within the European Council. Ukraine, the Middle East, EU competitiveness, and China’s global economic maneuvers will also be on the agenda.

Magyar started the day by meeting with Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, with whom he spoke about the conclusion of the Article 7 procedure against Hungary, which the EU initiated due to infringements on the rule of law. Magyar also invited Metsola to visit Hungary. Prior to the summit, he also met with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, as well as the leaders of the V4, the “Friends of Cohesion” group, and the leaders of the European People’s Party.

In his post on Facebook about the meeting with the Visegrád leaders, he wrote that all of them—Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš—had accepted his invitation to the June 23 meeting in Gödöllő.

Robert Fico also posted about their meeting, and mentioned that this was his first meeting with Magyar, and that they had agreed about the V4 meeting in Gödöllő. “Cooperation and coordination among the V4 countries remain an important part of promoting our common interests in Europe,” he wrote.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also attending the summit, but it is not known whether he will hold a one-on-one meeting with Magyar. In response to a question at the government's Thursday press briefing, government spokesperson Vanda Szondi said that there are no plans for a bilateral Magyar-Zelensky meeting on the sidelines of the summit.