In connection with Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Budapest on Monday, the Budapest mayor’s office issued a statement that the French president and Hungarian opposition were in agreement on the need for a strong Europe.
The statement signed by Gergely Karácsony, Budapest’s mayor, Péter Márki-Zay, the joint opposition’s prime ministerial candidate, Democratic Coalition MEP Klára Dobrev, and MEP Anna Donáth who leads the Momentum Movement, said their European plans largely coincided with the ideas of the French presidency. “Whereas the Hungarian opposition and the French president agree on the need for a strong, successful Europe, [Prime Minister] Viktor Orbán favours those who weaken Europe,” the statement said. They also accused Orbán of reducing Hungary to a zone of Russian and Chinese influence. The opposition figures also highlighted their concerns over the fairness of the Hungarian general election next spring, and accused the ruling parties of using “Russian propaganda methods”. The statement accused the ruling Fidesz party of “seizing, acquiring and closing almost all independent press outlets”, as well as “rewriting the electoral laws” for their own benefit. Regarding the rule of law and European Union funding, the statement said European taxpayers were lining the pockets of oligarchs rather than funding the Hungarian public. They also highlighted the situation of Hungarian local governments, accusing Orbán’s government of stripping local councils of their revenues as a punishment for voters who ejected Fidesz mayors in the last local elections. Before his official programme, Macron visited the Jewish cemetery on Kozma Street and laid a wreath at the grave of Hungarian philosopher Ágnes Heller.
hungarymatters.hu
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