Hungary: Two Presidencies of the Council of the EU

Comparing Hungary’s two presidencies in the Council of the EU in 2011 and 2024, the author comes to the conclusion that a number of priorities identified by Hungary during the first presidency for 13 years have not been properly resolved. This primarily concerns deepening ties with the Balkan states, connecting Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area, which was decided closer to her return to the position of chief strategist of the EU Council. Although the policy pursued by Hungary all these years in other statuses has demonstrated enviable consistency. In particular, the Danube Program has performed well over the years, and Croatia has joined the EU. Her experience in dealing with the crisis situation in Arab countries has helped her develop a clear and consistent position on migration and military conflicts in the intervening years. Despite the fact that the elections to the EU parliament were superimposed on the country’s second presidency, and then other EU leadership bodies, Budapest began its presidency quite loudly – seriously declaring its peacemaking intentions. Thus, among the priorities of the Hungarian presidency were strengthening the EU’s defense capability, increasing its competitiveness, the problem of illegal migration, agricultural policy and several other topics. Orban explained his trip to Ukraine, Russia, China, Turkey and the United States, which was not coordinated with the EU leadership, with the intention not to sit in the chair, but to act, trying to find solutions to the most acute problems that hinder the development of the European Union.