Hungary takes over the presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 July

After Brussels, Budapest. Hungary takes over the presidency of the Council of the European Union from July 1. Viktor Orban’s country succeeds Belgium, and Spain before it. The presidency is indeed rotating, that is to say that each member state chairs the Council in turn every six months.

The Council of the European Union is supposed to represent the interests of each Member State. It shares budgetary and legislative power with the Parliament. In this context, it negotiates legislative proposals and the budget adopted by the Commission. The institution coordinates the policies of the Twenty-Seven, particularly in economic and budgetary matters, and develops and implements the EU’s foreign and security policy.

Independence of the judiciary, aid to Ukraine, immigration, rights of LGBT communities… Since Viktor Orban came to power, thehe list is long of issues on which Hungary has distanced itself from European values. This Hungarian presidency is therefore causing unease within the European Union. For its part, Budapest wants to reassure, saying she is ready to take responsibility “obligations and responsibilities” of his mission which runs until December.