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Hungary Condemns EU Parliament For Withholding Funds

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Hungary has condemned the European Parliament for voting to withhold further European Union funds to Hungary until Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government meets all criteria to reverse the perceived erosion of the rule of law and democratic principles.

“There are clearly people in this [European] parliament who don’t want an agreement between the European Commission and the Hungarian government,” complained Balázs Hidvéghi, a European legislator of Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party.

They “don’t care about details” and “don’t care about facts and reality,” he added. “They are so adamant and so vehemently anti-Hungary and anti-Orbán that reality no longer matters for them.”

He received the billions shortly before a summit where he had threatened to veto the start of EU membership talks with war-torn Ukraine. Instead, he left the room for what some called the “most costly bathroom visit” ever for the EU.

That was about a third of the funds blocked a year earlier for democratic backsliding and graft under Orbán’s rule.

He received the billions shortly before a summit where he had threatened to veto the start of EU membership talks. Instead, he left the room for what some called the “most costly bathroom visit” ever for the EU.

His decision to leave the room allowed other member states to vote for the EU membership talks without Hungary’s veto.

DEEPLY DISSATISFIED

However, “everybody was deeply dissatisfied with the way [the EU’s executive European] Commission and the European Council [comprised of the 27 member states government leaders] have been handling things,” said Dutch European legislator Sophie in ‘t Veld of the Renew Europe faction.

“And I think the proof of that is that we are in a situation that the whole continent and Ukraine are being held hostage by one person, Mr. Orbán,” she added.

While the resolution she supported is non-binding, it boosts pressure on the European Commission and EU member states to take a harder line on releasing further funds to Hungary ahead of the EU elections in June.

Speaking to EU lawmakers on Wednesday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the 20 billion euros still frozen would “remain blocked until Hungary fulfills all the necessary conditions,” including on LGBTQ and asylum rights.

The forint lost value after the resolution passed. The Hungarian currency fell as much as 0.5 percent against the euro to the weakest level in more than two weeks, Bloomberg News agency reported.

The resolution came just days after Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico visited Hungary to shore up political support for Orbán, who has become increasingly isolated in the EU.

Recently elected Fico and Orbán maintain good relations with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin despite his ordered invasion of Ukraine that has killed and injured hundreds of thousands of people.

PEACE TALKS

Both leaders favor peace talks and made clear they would not support Ukraine militarily. Hungary’s prime minister defended his decision to veto 50 billion euros in EU aid to Ukraine.

He said the money should not be withdrawn from the central budget of the EU as that would mean funds meant for Hungary would be used for Ukraine.

Instead, he proposed that the 27 members allocate money for Kyiv from their budgets.

Alternatively, Orbán proposed an allocation of 10 billion euros annually for Ukraine, with Hungary having the right to veto future payments if it feels Kyiv isn’t meeting the criteria.

Critics say, however, that the EU shouldn’t be “blackmailed” by Orbán and hope EU leaders will find a solution to bypass Hungary during a summit next month.

Thursday’s resolution supporters also suggested a so-called Article 7 procedure against Hungary, which would take away its voting rights within the EU.

Hungary’s government says it is “being punished for its anti-migration stance” and its “Christian” conservative views, including its refusal to allow the teaching of LGBTQ issues to minors in schools.

RAISING CHILDREN

Orbán said in an interview Friday that there was “no money in the world” that would get Hungary to allow migrants in and “take the country away from us” or convince Hungarians “to hand over their children to LGBTQ activists.”

Raising children “is exclusively the job” of the family and parents. Nobody can take this away from them, especially not the school,” he added.

“They [the EU] cannot blackmail us with money in these matters because they are more important than money,” Orbán stressed.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen had stated clearly that EU funds were not being handed over to Hungarians for two reasons: because Hungary refused to allow migrants in and refused to allow LGBTQ activists among their children, Orbán claimed.

He told Hungarian radio that the upcoming European Parliament elections would be about the issues of “migration, our families, and the war.”

Despite the political wrangling, Hungary is still scheduled to take over the rotating EU presidency later this year in what promises to be a turbulent period.