Justice Minister Judit Varga said the European Parliament should focus on real problems.
Speaking with Portuguese daily Diário de Notícias, the justice minister branded the European Parliament’s recent rule-of-law report saying that Hungary was no longer a full democracy but rather an “electoral autocracy” as “nonsense”. “The European Parliament is, by definition, a political institution, therefore it operates with majorities of political ideologies,” Varga said. “There was a similar report four years ago and now, four years later, we have this one. Their political mission is to carry out a witch hunt against a country which doesn’t accept having its political ideology determined by the European Parliament.”
“We are members of the European club, but national interests take priority for us,” the minister said. Varga noted that times were tough, with energy prices soaring, a war going on in Hungary’s neighbourhood and “a recession on the horizon”. “The European Parliament should therefore deal with the real problems,” she said. “You can’t cry wolf for 12 years. This Hungarian government came to power in 2010 and has been working in the interests of the Hungarian people ever since.” Varga said the government’s opponents would not be satisfied “until there’s a liberal government in power in Hungary”. She said the EP did not respect freedom, democracy or human dignity, and was disrespectful of the Hungarian people.
Meanwhile, the minister said Hungary was engaged in “very constructive talks” with the European Commission about “real issues”. She agreed that it was unfair to make the payout of post-pandemic recovery funds conditional on the respect for the rule of law. The European budget has nothing to do with how people raise their children or what they think about immigration, the minister said. “There should not be conditions just because we have a different mindset in relation to family policy,” Varga said. “I believe the Commission is part of the solution, and the European Parliament is doing its political work.”
Photo credit: Facebook/Varga Judit