Hungarian National Assembly
Chairman of the Committee on European Affairs
Zoltán Tessely
Kossuth Lajos tér 1-3
H-1055 Budapest
Via email to:
August 6, 2024
Dear colleague,
We are deeply concerned about the first three weeks of the Hungarian Presidency of the council of
the EU, as fundamental principles are disregarded. The EU Presidency’s role is to coordinate and
mediate between European governments and their interests for the common good. Instead of
building bridges, the Hungarian Prime minister used the first days of the Presidency to provoke
European partners by putting his own interests over a European consensus.
The Presidency of the council of the EU has no official role in foreign policy. European foreign policy is
jointly decided by the governments of the member states. The EU treaties are clear, the European
Union is represented abroad by the President of the European Council and the High Representative of
the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
The solitary trips of the Hungarian Prime Minister to Moscow and Beijing were not only intrusive. The
Hungarian Prime Minister is constantly weakening the position of the European Union and impeding
peace for Ukraine. Publicly repeating the war objectives of the Russian president and calling it a
“peace mission” is an unacceptable support of the aggressor. If Russia stops invading Ukraine, the war
is over. We must act together as a union to reach that goal and to at the same time stop Russia's
continuing hybrid operations directed against the EU.
If the Hungarian government keeps trolling its European partners, it will on the long run harm their
own national interests. European governments will lose the believe that the aims of the Hungarian
government are in line with any European interest. This will massively hurt the objectives of the
Hungarian EU presidency.
The Presidency of the council of the EU must be constructive and respect the European treaties. You
have our full support demanding the Hungarian government to act according to these basic
principles. We do need a fully functioning European Union to face the big challenges ahead of us.
Kind regards,
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