Justice Minister Judit Varga said addressing demographic challenges will be a priority of Hungary's presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2024.
Speaking in Strasbourg on Tuesday, after talks with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, Minister Varga said Hungary believes that the solution to demographic challenges lies in family policy rather than migration. The minister said she and Metsola discussed the priorities of Hungary’s future EU presidency, among other matters. During its presidency, Hungary will propose that the EU treaties cover family policy and that the EU allocate funding to the issue, Varga said.
She also highlighted enlargement policy as a key focus of the Hungarian presidency, saying that “Serbia must definitely be integrated with the European community.” Hungary will also give increased attention to cohesion policy, Varga said, adding that by addressing imbalances among member states’ economies, the policy made the entire bloc more successful.
Meanwhile, Minister Varga said she had also met Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić to discuss the situation of ethnic Hungarians in western Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region and held talks with Síofra O’Leary, president of the European Court of Human Rights.
Photo credit: Facebook/Varga Judit