Addressing a regular press briefing, Gergely Gulyás, the prime minister’s chief of staff, said Hungary and the European Union had reached an agreement on Hungary’s post-pandemic recovery plan, but Brussels had “re-opened” the issue after Hungary passed its child protection law.
This, he said, had been followed by continued “political accusations” and a media campaign launched against the country. Citing Hungary’s constitution, Gulyás said “human dignity is inviolable.” It is the state’s constitutional obligation to perform the tasks of child protection, he said. A clear stance of Hungarians is the only tool in the government’s hands against the current infringement procedure, he said. It will help the government create child protection measures in line with the citizens’ preferences, he said.
Hungary continues to strive for “loyal cooperation” with the EU, Gulyás said. “Hopefully, the European Commission’s head will be able to keep its institution in order,” he added. “It is particularly conflicting to see the Czech commissioner talk about corruption, as she herself had been in prison for graft,” he said.
The government is continuing the talks on the use of the EU’s recovery fund, but will also allocate monies from the budget and announce tenders “to make sure that Hungarian voters feel the EU funding is secondary” to economic recovery, he said. EU funds are regularly pre-financed, and the government will continue that practice, he said. It is in Hungary’s interest to stay in the EU, but it will maintain its right to influence the “club’s rules” and to decide on issues that lie within member state competencies, he said.
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