Hungary's meeting with Judith Sargentini, the rapporteur of the European Parliament’s investigation into the state of the rule of law in Hungary, took place on Tuesday, it has been confirmed.
Levente Magyar, parliamentary state secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said that the EP will decide whether or not to launch Article 7 proceedings against Hungary based on Sargentini's report, which could lead to the suspension of Hungary’s voting rights.
The state secretary said the talks with the EP rapporteur were decidedly amicable, but surprisingly, the MEP had no knowledge of certain pieces of basic information, in view of which her Hungarian negotiating partners offered Ms. Sargentini their assistance.
“Otherwise, we are not expecting much from the negotiations because the EP’s approach is clearly biased," Magyar said.
“There is a sharp conflict between certain Brussels institutions and politicians and Hungary with regard to immigration. Hungary does not want immigration. The Hungarian people want to decide for themselves who they live with and has stated this on several occasions. This is what irritates certain Brussels politicians," he added.
“Hungary was right to choose the direct route and openly reject the mandatory resettlement quota. Meanwhile, 20 out of the EU’s 28 member states may have accepted the quota, but did not implement it. Only 25 percent of the required numbers were successfully resettled, and therefore the system of mandatory quotas has failed," he said.
“We do not want to undertake the burden of the parallel societies that go hand-in-hand with immigration. Hungary is not taking part in this, and this is precisely why it has become the target of political attacks. It is obvious that the timing of the procedure is also no accident, in view of the fact that there will be elections in Hungary in a few months’ time," he added.