Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, said Hungary will reject any conditions attached to the European Union’s coronavirus rescue package.
Minister Gulyás said EU member states are in the best position to decide how the rescue funds should be spent and the Hungarian government plans to enact measures to reboot the economy, create jobs and boost growth.
The minister said that when Prime Minister Viktor Orbán negotiates at the EU summit this weekend, he will be bound by a remit approved by the Hungarian parliament. Hungarian lawmakers will have the sole authority to make any changes regarding the coronavirus rescue package in light of the summit’s conclusions. If conditions are attached to the loan package, the prime minister will have to submit them to parliament for another debate,
Minister Gulyás said the government’s position was clear: the loan will be taken out jointly by EU member states and therefore “conditions must not be set”. In view of the wide gaps between the positions of the member states, the success of the EU summit “seems rather uncertain,” he said. If a deal is forthcoming, the loan agreement could be ratified by parliament in the summer or in September at the latest, he added.