Joint Committee on European Union Affairs debate -
Wednesday, 3 Jul 2024

On behalf of the committee, I welcome the Hungarian ambassador to Ireland, H.E. Mr. Gergely Bánhegy and the deputy head of mission, Mr. Tamás Szilágyi. I hope I have pronounced that reasonably correctly. Our discussion today is on the priorities for the Hungarian Presidency of the European Council which is starting and will take place over the latter part of this year.

Before we begin our session, there is a note on privilege that I must read. All witnesses are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice that they should not criticise or make charges against any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable or otherwise engage in speech that might be regarded as damaging to the good name of that person or entity. Therefore, if their statements are potentially defamatory in respect of an identifiable person or entity, they will be directed to discontinue their remarks. It is imperative that they comply.

Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against either a person outside the Houses or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable. I remind members of the constitutional requirement that they must be physically present within the confines of Leinster House in order to participate in public meetings. I cannot permit a member to participate where he or she is not adhering to this requirement. Therefore, any member who attempts to participate from outside the precincts will be asked to leave.

With that, I call the ambassador to give his opening statement.

Dia dhaoibh, Cathaoirleach and distinguished members of the committee. As ambassador of Hungary to Ireland, it is my honour to give a brief introduction to the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Hungary takes over the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances. Our Union is facing enormous challenges due to the war on our Continent, a fragile global security environment, illegal migration, competitiveness challenges, the vulnerability of international supply chains, natural disasters, the effects of climate change and the impact of demographic trends.

Furthermore, as 2024 is a year of institutional transition, the Hungarian Presidency will have to ensure the continuity of the work in the Council, in co-operation with a newly established European Parliament and European Commission, and will have to start the implementation of the strategic agenda.

Due to this transition, the first half of the Presidency will be dominated by institutional changes and the second half will deal with classical legislative tasks. First and foremost, let me mention that the Hungarian Presidency will work as an honest broker, in the spirit of sincere co-operation between member states and institutions, for the peace, security and prosperity of a truly strong Europe. The Hungarian Presidency counts on the support of Ireland in this endeavour.

As in 2010-2011, we are sharing the Trio Presidency with Spain and Belgium. The Trio Presidency programme was adopted last summer, and the programme of the Hungarian Presidency – in line with the priorities of the Trio programme – was published on 18 June. The Hungarian Presidency, as the last member of the current Trio, will also form a link to the work of the next Trio commencing in 2025 with the Polish Presidency.

Presidency preparations have been ongoing for the past two years. We expect a heavy legislative workload with 122 dossiers taken over from the Belgian Presidency. In Brussels we plan two European Council meetings, 37 formal Council meetings and four Eurogroup meetings. In addition to this, there will be approximately 1,600 formal working group meetings.

The Hungarian Presidency will be Brussels-based. Nevertheless, we will organise approximately 230 events in Hungary, mainly in Budapest, among these three informal summits, namely, the informal European Council meeting, the European Political Community summit, and the EU-western Balkans summit, as well as 16 informal Council meetings.

With the Ministry of European Union Affairs established in August 2023, for the first time in her history Hungary has a dedicated ministry to EU affairs, which will have the oversight and co-ordination over the Presidency tasks. Hungary has been preparing its presidency very thoroughly. We have consulted an unprecedented number of stakeholders before completing our Presidency’s programme, including EU member states and Institutions, candidate countries, business entities, NGOs, public bodies, regions or representatives of national minorities. The number of diplomats at permanent representation to the EU has almost been doubled and we have hired temporary experts in the line ministries in Budapest. We believe that the programme of our Presidency is well balanced, innovative and future-proof. If I may, I will now inform the committee about the priorities of the semester ahead of us.

First, is the new European competitiveness deal. In the current international environment where Europe is lagging behind its global competitors, it is vital to improve the productivity and thus the competitiveness of the Union and its member states. It is in our common interest to address the effects of the challenging economic circumstances of the recent years, such as high inflation, increased public debt, high energy prices, fragmentation of international supply chains, lower productivity and slower economic growth compared with our global competitors. Therefore, our Presidency will place a strong emphasis on improving European competitiveness by applying a holistic approach. Our aim is to contribute to the development of a technology-neutral industrial strategy, a framework for boosting European productivity, an open economy and international economic co-operation, as well as a flexible labour market that creates secure jobs and offers fair and raising wages in Europe.

The adoption of a new European competitiveness deal is a key priority of the Hungarian Presidency in order to strengthen economic development, create the conditions for sustainable growth, deepen the internal market and support SMEs, promote the green and digital transition and ensure the stability and sustainability of jobs.

The second priority is the reinforcement of the European defence policy. The ongoing and emerging conflicts on our Continent and around the globe clearly demonstrate that Europe needs to significantly improve its defence capabilities, international crisis management responsiveness and capacities. Beyond defence policy alliances and co-operation, the European Union must play a greater role in guaranteeing its own security by strengthening its resilience and capacity to act. Bearing this in mind, the Hungarian Presidency will place particular emphasis on strengthening the European defence technological and industrial base, including defence innovation and the enhancement of defence procurement co-operation between member states, beyond the implementation of the strategic compass.

The third priority is a consistent and merit-based enlargement policy. Enlargement is one of the most successful policies of the European Union. To preserve this strength, it is essential to keep enlargement policy merit-based, balanced and credible. The European Union has been long engaged in ensuring a European perspective for the western Balkans, as the community cannot be complete without the accession of this region. To further broaden and deepen our co-operation, we will invite our partners to consultations both in the framework of the EU-western Balkans summit and the European Political Community summit.

The fourth priority is stemming illegal migration. The migratory pressure that Europe has been facing for several years is not only a challenge to the Union as a whole but also places a huge burden on individual member states, especially those at the external borders of the Union. It has been a long-term objective of the EU to tackle this issue, which requires effective, even short-term instruments. In order to find the appropriate solutions, closer co-operation is indispensable with countries bordering the EU, as well as the key countries of origin and transit. In addition, illegal migration and human trafficking must be curbed. In this respect, the Hungarian Presidency will pay particular attention to the external dimension of migration, including efficient co-operation with relevant third countries, more effective returns, and innovative solutions for rules on asylum. In addition, during the follow-up on the implementation of the annual priorities of the Schengen cycle, we intend to highlight the importance of external border protection and the need for EU funds for this purpose.

The fifth priority is shaping the future of cohesion policy. To ensure harmonious and balanced development in the Union, it is essential for Europe to reduce regional disparities, as well as to secure economic, social, and territorial cohesion.

A well-structured and balanced cohesion policy is the key instrument in this regard. However, as the ninth cohesion report points out, there are still significant development gaps between member states and within regions, considering that more than a quarter of the EU's population lives in regions not reaching 75% of the Union's average development level. The Hungarian Presidency will aim for a high-level strategic debate on the future of cohesion policy, including its role in promoting competitiveness and employment.

The sixth priority is a farmer-oriented EU agricultural policy. European agriculture may have never faced as many challenges as it does today. Extraordinary weather conditions caused by climate change, growing input costs, increasing imports from third countries and overly stringent production rules have significantly decreased the competitiveness of the sector. It is essential to view agriculture not as a cause of climate change, but as part of the solution by engaging farmers in adopting more sustainable production practices. A long-term guarantee of food sovereignty and food security should be an essential part of the strategic autonomy of the EU.

In the semester ahead, the Hungarian Presidency will encourage AGRIFISH to guide the new Commission in formulating the rules of the Union's post-2027 agricultural policy for a competitive, crisis-proof and farmer-friendly agriculture. Sustainable agriculture is a key priority to find a rational balance between the strategic objectives of the European Green Deal, the stabilisation of agricultural markets and a decent standard of living for farmers.

The last priority is addressing demographic challenges. The accelerating ageing of European societies, unsustainable social welfare systems, labour shortages or rural depopulation are long-standing and intensifying problems that need to be addressed urgently and effectively. These issues have a huge impact on the competitiveness of the EU and the sustainability of public finances. The Hungarian Presidency, fully respecting the competencies of member states, wishes to draw attention to these challenges, and acknowledges that the Commission’s demographic toolbox, published in October 2023, provides a good basis for that.

To conclude, I reiterate that the Hungarian Presidency will work towards achieving a stronger, safer and more prosperous European Union in close co-operation with all member states and the institutions. Go raibh míle maith agaibh. I thank the members of the committee very much and ask them to forgive me for my Irish.

The ambassador's pronunciation was fine, and probably better than mine at times, but we will not get into that now. The ambassador is very welcome. I see that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met with President Zelenskyy lately and I ask the ambassador to give us some details regarding that meeting. It is fair to say that Viktor Orbán and the Hungarian regime are seen as being very pro-Vladimir Putin. I would like to get the ambassador's view in relation to Putin. I will be honest and say that my view is that he is an old-style Russian imperialist, no different from many who have gone before him. While we need to see, at some stage, some element of a peace process, and we all want to see this, it is the case, as the adage states, that it takes at least two to tango.

There has been a long history of Hungary being at loggerheads with the European Union around rule-of-law issues. This covers everything. We could be talking about civil society groups, Viktor Orbán's battle with the courts and what people would state explicitly are issues concerning migrant rights and LGBT rights. It was often argued, although this has probably changed recently because of the Ukrainian crisis, that enlargement was to a degree unthinkable in many western European countries based on the rule-of-law issues that exist within several countries, but specifically in Hungary.

Across Ireland and the world, many people will be found who have major issues with what is going on in Gaza, which they see as being a genocidal slaughter. I cannot call Benjamin Netanyahu anything other than two things, a chancer and a genocidal maniac. Hungary's Prime Minister seems to have a very close relationship with him, if the ambassador knows what I mean. At times, the ambassador spoke about fostering peace and whatever. Regarding Ukraine, many in the European Union would disagree with this representation of Hungary's stance and say it is very pro-Putin. The fact is that it cannot be called a particularly pacifistic regime if it supports Benjamin Netanyahu now.

The wider issue of migration - this is being experienced across the board - is one we must all deal with, including here. It is the case that we all need to have our rules and regulations in this regard. I am not always happy with many of the rules and regulations of the European Union. I always think we can do better and do something fairer. We would also say that the western world has not played a particularly helpful role in Africa or the Middle East, and neither has Russia or China. Whatever about the determinations we need to make in regard to our own rules, what would the ambassador propose as being the European Union's answer to dealing with the wider issue of why so many people are travelling to Europe?

Yes, it was a broad range of comments and questions. I thank the Deputy very much. Let us start with the order the Deputy asked them in and with the meeting between Prime Minister Orbán and President Zelenskyy yesterday. As the Prime Minister restated yesterday, his intention in paying his first visit to Kyiv as the Prime Minister of the country holding the Presidency was to try to find long-term solutions for ending the war and to make progress on bilateral relations. At the press conference after the meeting, President Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Orbán expressed their hopes and views. They had an extremely constructive discussion on bilateral issues. Both reiterated that they are trying to put the debates of the past behind them and to focus on the future.

The Deputy may have heard that the biggest concern of our Government regarding Ukraine is the deprivation of the minority rights of the Hungarian minorities, which started more or less about seven years ago. As Prime Minister Orbán said, however, he and President Zelenskyy would like to put the past behind them and focus on the future. The Prime Minister also mentioned that Hungary is keen to participate as much as it can in the modernisation of the Ukrainian economy.

We also hope that based on these discussions the rights of the Hungarian minorities can be improved. We are also very much committed to supporting the Ukrainian refugees coming to Hungary and those who decide to stay in the country and not move on to other European countries, like Ireland, for example. As a tool in this regard, Prime Minister Orbán announced that we are going to open a Ukrainian school in Budapest very soon. Hungary has been hosting and caring for refugees from Ukraine since the very first day. According to our statistics, altogether about 1.3 million Ukrainians have arrived in Hungary. Many of those just moved further on then. We have been constantly supporting Ukraine too with medical care for wounded soldiers and with the reconstruction of schools and health facilities.

Of course, Prime Minister Orbán arrived in Kyiv as the Prime Minister of Hungary when the country has the Presidency of the Council. He expressed the view that "peace is important not only for Ukraine, but for the whole of Europe". We all understand that Ukraine is suffering the most in this war, but it is also very much affecting European security and the European economy. Prime Minister Orbán and President Zelenskyy agreed they are going to work together on these issues.

Turning to the issue of migration, if I may respond a little, Hungary started tackling the issues of illegal migration already in 2015 with the first big wave of illegal migrants.

Hungary committed at that time to protect the external border of the European Union. The main goal of the government as a member state on the external border was to protect the external border and to try to stop illegal migration at the border. Hungary sees that the newly adopted migration pact may be seen by some potential migrants as an invitation and it is not a viable solution. That is why I mentioned that we would like to find innovative solutions in co-operation with the newly established institutions of the member states.

The Deputy mentioned Hungary's stance towards Russia and Putin, and also towards Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu. We believe that diplomacy has the most important, crucial role and must stay open for all parties because solutions can be achieved only by discussions. Diplomats and diplomacy are the only way. Even though parties do not agree with each other, they are in constant communication. I am pretty sure that Hungary is not the only European member state which keeps different levels of communication channels open to both Israel and Russia. I am optimistic and as a diplomat I believe that constant communication can help to achieve peace and solutions to this crisis.

Regarding the rule of law and dialogue in the Council, the Hungarian Presidency will conduct the Council's rule-of-law dialogue in the spirit of sincere co-operation and as an honest broker. During our term, we will organise a horizontal debate and country-specific discussion on the situation in four member states based on the Commission's 2024 rule-of-law report. Hungary would be among these four member states and Poland would be in the next package. Hungary and Poland agree that, during the Hungarian Presidency, the Polish and Hungarian context will be discussed. Rule of law is very much connected to the Article 7 procedure. We have a clear position that there is no reason to maintain and continue the Article 7 procedure against Hungary. Hungary has always taken part in this procedure in a constructive and transparent manner to provide replies to all questions posed by the Commission and the Parliament. We hope that most questions can be agreed on and we will be able to close this chapter as soon as possible.

I thank the ambassador for his presentation and for setting out the seven priorities of the Hungarian Presidency clearly. Like many people, I have a problem with Hungary's general approach to the European Union under Viktor Orbán. I know that will not come as a surprise to the ambassador from his interaction with TDs and Senators today. Deputy Ó Murchú mentioned rule-of-law violations and the consistent use of the veto at European Council meetings. Hungary appears to be disruptive to the proceedings of the European Union at Council level. Mr. Bánhegyi may say the veto was used for particular issues. Council meetings are delayed because of objections by Hungary and so on. All of this is well known.

Regarding some of the priorities, on competitiveness, Hungary will prioritise trade with China and energy links with Russia. I do not agree with those priorities. They are both autocracies. Russia is involved in a war on the Continent of Europe. We have to be concerned regarding China. As the President of the European Commission has stated, we need to de-risk when it comes to that country.

Regarding enlargement, again it would seem that Hungary opposes Ukraine's accession to the European Union. It is a minority view. Hungary seems to have continuously blocked aid and support to Ukraine at European Council level and is quite disruptive on that, not adhering to the consensus on the European Council.

We can see the way the European Union is going with regard to defence capabilities. Obviously Ireland is a militarily neutral country but we accept that we have to be part of that conversation. I do not have an issue with Hungary's priority on defence capabilities, even though we have to be particularly vigilant in that regard in this country.

That is an introduction to my first question about Hungary's general approach to the European Union under Viktor Orbán. Is Hungary happy to be in the European Union? Some member states have called for the expulsion of Hungary from the European Union. Those calls are there. I would be interested to know what Hungary's general approach to the European Union is or what Viktor Orbán's problems are regarding the European Union.

My second question relates to a newspaper report yesterday that Viktor Orbán has formed a new patriotic alliance for the European Parliament, so presumably a new group is being set up there. In announcing that, Mr. Orbán talked about the current Brussels elite and their politics of war, migration and stagnation. He also referred to the slogan of the Hungarian Presidency, which will be "Make Europe great again." That does not inspire confidence, given that Trump has used a similar slogan for the United States. Does Mr. Bánhegyi want to say anything about the setting up of that new group or how that is going? I know it is a new development but I would be interested to hear his take on that.

I thank the Deputy. Hungary is a member of the European Union and our Government is committed to Hungary staying a member of the Union. There is no serious discussion in Hungary, whether in political life or society, about whether Hungary should be a member of the European Union and whether the Union is a beneficial and great structure. This is definitely clear for our Government. The Deputy mentioned the veto in his introduction. One of the biggest values of the European Union is its diversity and the difference of member states, which can work together. However, we are coming from different historical backgrounds. Our countries are in different geopolitical locations. The best example is Ireland and Hungary. We are so far away from each other. We have different environments. The European Union is an institution which is trying to harmonise the interests and intentions of all these member states.

The Deputy mentioned the veto. The biggest value of the European Union is that it creates agreements between all member states. We do not see the veto as an issue that is blocking decisions but, rather, we place emphasis on unanimous decisions, and all member states have the same right in this regard.

If I may, I will show the committee the logo of the Hungarian Presidency. This is a Rubik's cube. On one side is the European flag and, on the other, the Hungarian flag. The Rubik's cube was invented 50 years ago by Ernő Rubik, a great personality. It consists of 27 small cubes that create a big one. This big one has six different sides of colour. It is quite colourful but the cubes are the same size in this cube. They are also connected strongly. You can mix it and can create chaos but at the end, somehow you can find a way to solve it and create harmony again. The Hungarian Government sees its role during the Presidency as one of promoting how to solve this Rubik's cube.

The Deputy mentioned the patriotic alliance. As a party political issue, I am not very up to date on it. In the European Parliament, Fidesz, the governing party in Hungary and the party of Prime Minister Orbán, is trying to find its place. I cannot really say anything about party political issues.

The Deputy also mentioned the slogan of the Hungarian Presidency, "Make Europe Great Again". It reflects the slogan of our previous Presidency in 2011, which was "Stronger Europe". On the other hand, I cannot clearly recall, and do not think, that President Trump whom the Deputy referred to would have had the intention to make Europe great. He focused instead on the United States. I believe this slogan reflects the contents and priorities of our Presidency programme. I also have to admit that it is a slogan that many people will probably remember in the coming years. There are not many slogans of previous Presidencies which people will always have in mind. It might be the case with this one.

How do I follow that? I thank the ambassador for his attendance and his presentation.

I have to pick up on the slogan "Make Europe Great Again" because the ambassador was smiling while talking about. He knows what people think of when they read that slogan. They think of Donald Trump. In the context that one of the priorities of the Hungarian Presidency is European defence and improving our resilience and capabilities, one of the biggest concerns at a European level is what a new US President might do in the context of NATO and how that could impact global security. While the slogan may be memorable and a bit playful, if I am being honest, it makes people nervous.

Listening to the ambassador's presentation and the priorities of the Hungarian Presidency, there were a lot of good points and there is certainly a lot of common ground between Ireland and Hungary, particularly on agriculture and taking a farmer-centred approach to agriculture. There is a lot of connectivity between our countries even though, as the ambassador said, we are in different environments and quite far apart geographically. We are all part of the same Union, however.

This is an opportunity for members to speak directly to a representative of Hungary. There have been challenges, if I can put it that way, around the rule of law and Hungary's response to Ukraine. The way that Hungary's leader is interacting at a European Council level presents challenges and there are concerns. There is a level of nervousness with the Hungarian Presidency but I am heartened by the ambassador's comments. He appears to be saying there is an appetite now to deal with some of that "chaos", to use the word the ambassador used in terms of the Rubik's cube, and to try and find harmony, build bridges and look to the future. I take at face value the ambassador's statement that the intention is to work better together and build a stronger, more cohesive Europe. Actions over the course of the coming months will show if that is coming through.

One of the Hungarian Presidency's key priorities is global competitiveness because the EU is not matching up with its international competitors. From my perspective, China continuously undermines the competitiveness of EU companies through its funding of Chinese companies. That is why the incoming Commission President has previously stated there is a risk for the European Union in terms of our dependence on third countries, in particular China. I agree with the ambassador that the EU needs to remain competitive in trade but doing that requires us to support European business and workers and become more resilient in terms of key inputs we need for development, such as precious metals. We have vulnerabilities, one of which was energy. We have come a long way on that because we had to, but there are areas where we need to be able to stand on our own two feet more and not be so reliant on third countries because of the geopolitical situation. Things change rapidly, as we saw only a short few years ago.

On enlargement, the ambassador mentioned the western Balkans. I am interested in hearing directly from him Hungary's position on Ukraine. Obviously, from Ireland's perspective, we are fully supportive of Ukraine becoming a full member of the European Union and we support its accession. We wish Ukraine well in the accession negotiations over the coming years. I would appreciate a clear comment from the ambassador on Hungary's position. Given Prime Minister Orbán's recent visit to Kyiv and the language that came out of that meeting, has there been a change in Hungary's position? I am interested in hearing that.

The migration issue is also a challenge here for Ireland. The migration pact represents the best chance we have of dealing with this in a way that brings all member states together and where the burden is shared. It is a shared challenge. If Hungary has issues with the migration pact, what are they and how does the ambassador see the Hungarian Presidency interacting with that over the course of the next year?

On demographic challenges, I agree with the ambassador on the points he made. We have an ageing population, including in Ireland. How do we deal with that? What ideas does the Hungarian Presidency have as regards demographic pressures?

I thank the Senator for all her comments and questions. I am happy she also sees common ground and common points in our Presidency programme which might be a good basis for good co-operation. This is what the Hungarian Government is also expecting in the next six months. As I mentioned, the Hungarian Government is committed to act as an honest broker and we fully understand that, in its Presidency, Hungary is representing all member states and not only Hungary. This is very important to stress.

On the new US President and the issues with NATO and defence capabilities, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, Europe needs to focus on its strategic autonomy and its own capabilities to protect itself. Sitting here in Ireland, we all understand that not all EU member states are members of NATO. That is also important to stress. For this reason, the European Union has to have its own capabilities, tools and means to work together as a Union, including in the field of defence co-operation.

We will see what happens in the autumn, but President Trump might evoke different feelings for different people. We know his personality and presidency were divisive. It created divisive feelings for people. As a basis for our Presidency, and it is also valid for this topic, we think the European Union has to find a way to not live in the shadow of any other big global players, whether that is China, Russia or the United States. It has to have its own voice and plan. The European Union has to have its own capabilities to act independently. On competitiveness, the Senator mentioned China, supporting European businesses, energy and the question of precious metals-----

I return to what Senator Chambers mentioned about energy, precious metals, supporting SMEs and relations with China. That is why the European Union and member states have to agree a joint strategy on how to improve competitiveness. The Senator mentioned the state subvention of Chinese businesses. This topic was also one of the motives for the recent decision for extra duties on Chinese electric vehicles We understand the European Union might want to find new and innovative ways to deal with and co-operate with Chinese businesses. On one hand, the EU has to protect itself from other competitors in this competitive environment. On the other hand, we still have to find ways to co-operate because there is no doubt, and most of us agree, that it would be impossible to cut all ties with China. This is not possible, in the innovative branches especially. That is why we aim to create this new competitiveness deal to find a balance in this challenging environment.

I turn to Ukraine. As was mentioned, yesterday the Prime Minister visited Kyiv to meet President Zelenskyy. That was a sign to try to settle our bilateral issues. As we reiterated many times, between Hungary and Ukraine the biggest unsettled issue is the status and position of the Hungarian minority, which has been suffering the deprivation of its rights in recent years. The Hungarian Government and most high-level state actors express that Ukraine has a right to defend itself against Russia, and the right to sovereignty based on its internationally acknowledged borders. It was mentioned many times by the Hungarian Prime Minister and our ministers and President. The first intergovernmental conference was held on 25 June, during the Belgian Presidency. This is now the time for the European Commission to continue assessing the state of preparedness of Ukraine and to open negotiations in specific chapters. That is why we think the first task of the new European Commission during our Presidency will be to continue this assessment. The first chapters will probably be opened after the Hungarian Presidency. We do not expect any progress in this issue. Hungary has not blocked the decisions of the European Union and European Council to start negotiations with Ukraine to organise the first intergovernmental conference. We always raised our concerns but, as a member of the Union, we have not blocked these big decisions.

The Senator mentioned that she views the migration pact as a good tool and a good solution to tackle this issue. We believe monitoring of the implementation is the responsibility of the Commission. It has published the joint implementation plan, which is a guideline. We believe the process should be managed, not just by the Commission but also with the involvement of the member states. Under the Presidency, we want to give space to the member states at a high level and at an expert level to raise concerns and questions about the pact. We also believe it is necessary to talk about issues which have been pushed into the background during the adoption of the pact, for example, innovative initiatives and the external dimension and partnerships with the main countries of origin and transit.

I thank the Senator for the question on demographic challenges. I am happy that she also found some common ground in this matter. I will try to give some details on this issue and some examples from our detailed programme. We wish to place special emphasis on finding ways to address the challenges for older generations, in terms of staying in the labour market for a longer time if they wish. We are also trying to tackle the implementation of the European occupational, health and safety, and environment safety frameworks strategy. We are also focused on the demographic toolbox of the European Commission and would like to follow its guidelines in trying to tackle these issues. I understand it is a complex spread of issues, including social welfare systems, labour markets and rural depopulation. It is an issue strongly connected to different fields.

I thank the ambassador and his deputy for visiting us today. We appreciate the time he has made available to outline the platform the Hungarian Government will be working on during its Presidency. To be positive, this is an opportunity for Hungary to work with its fellow EU members, to carry out what the ambassador has said and the commitment he made to use the Presidency in the way it should be used, that is, as an honest broker and a means to bring member states together, and to progress the agenda the majority of EU member states are committed to and want to see happen.

I wish Hungary the very best in that. I put down the marker that there will be a real judgment at the end of six months as to whether those words were followed with deeds. How Hungary chairs the meetings, how it progresses and how it takes the actions will be very important. We have had many ambassadors from many member states here to outline the programmes their governments will carry through. They have always been marked by a willingness of the member state in question to step back from its own position on an issue and act as the honest broker with respect to the Presidency. That is very important.

I am not going to repeat what my colleagues have said already. It is fair to say, and Mr. Bánhegyi would know this from his work as ambassador and his interaction with this committee, that many of us have many grave reservations about the actions of the Hungarian Government in recent times in certain key areas, especially rule of law issues and progressing and supporting Ukraine's position of justifiably defending itself against a regime that launched a completely unjustified, barbaric war of aggression against it. I hope, therefore, we can work together in the European Union to ensure that support remains a constant for Ukraine in the coming months.

I have no doubt there will be many key occasions when some of the things Mr. Bánhegyi has talked about will come into play. Hungary assumes the Presidency at a very interesting time. There is a new Commission coming in, there is the confirmation of that and the agenda coming out of it as well as the new Parliament coming together. I wish Mr. Bánhegyi the best of luck. We need to have a successful Presidency and it is imperative Hungary can deliver on the commitment to provide the type of Presidency Europe needs at this time.

I will say just a few words. I thank the Cathaoirleach and members very much. It was an honour to be with them and present the priorities of the Hungarian Presidency. I thank everyone for their comments, remarks and questions. It is the same challenge for every member state to live up the expectations of an ambitious Presidency programme. I am thankful for the highlighting of the position of honest broker. As I mentioned, the Hungarian Government is committed to this, of course. The Hungarian Government would also like to use this semester, as it is reflected in the Presidency programme, to draw attention the challenges the European Union is facing and to try to find common, long-term solutions. It is basically the same for all Presidencies somehow. I believe the Hungarian Presidency will do its homework, do its job and fulfil its commitments, just as most other Presidencies have done. We are very much looking forward to doing it and very much hoping for strong co-operation among member states and with the institutions for a bright future for the European Union.