The head of the Association of Cities with County Rights which represents the views of 80% of all Hungarian settlements has expressed dissatisfaction over not receiving a response from EC President Ursula von der Leyen to a letter urging the EU to change its policy of sanctions against Russia and also unlock EU funding for Hungary.
According to MTI, the letter was attached to a petition signed by 2,551 local councils. The association’s head, Károly Szita, has approached the head of the European Commission’s representation in Budapest asking him to mediate concerning the letter, saying he had written to the EC president more than a month and a half ago. “It’s now clear that the flawed sanctions policy will bring Europe to ruin,” Szita, who is also the mayor of Kaposvár, in south-western Hungary, told a press conference held in front of the EC representation. He also said Hungarians were entitled to the EU funds being withheld. Meanwhile, he noted that Budapest had not been among the petition’s signatories, and he urged the capital’s leadership to join the initiative. “We ask Budapest’s leadership to put aside everyday politics and join our petition,” he said. “Let’s stand shoulder to shoulder in this struggle to get Brussels’ sanctions policy to aid rather than hurt Hungarian localities.”