János Bóka, the minister for EU affairs, has said that as president of the Council of the EU next year, Hungary will seek constructive cooperation with every institution of the European Union including the European Parliament.
Bóka told reporters in Strasbourg on Tuesday that he held talks in preparation for the Hungarian presidency with EP President Roberta Metsola, as well as with EP group leaders and the heads of EP committees. “I plan to have further meetings to present the priorities of the Hungarian presidency and to have consultations about the framework of cooperation with the EP,” he said. The minister said the Hungarian presidency’s priorities were still being drafted. “We agreed [at today’s talks] that those must include common issues that are important for the EU and on which we must take a decision; issues concerning which cooperation is important in order that the integration process can be moved forward,” he said. Asked about concerns expressed recently by left-wing MEPs over the Hungarian presidency, Bóka said no such concern had been expressed at his talks. “The Council has approved the programme of the trio presidency [of Spain, Belgium and Hungary]. Hungary is preparing to hold the Council’s presidency in the second half of 2024 and this is what everyone else is preparing for,” he said.
Photo credit: MTI