Hungarian parliament won’t accept political conditions tied to EU rescue package, says House Speaker
Hungary’s parliament will not accept any political conditions being tied to the European Union’s coronavirus rescue package, László Kövér, the House Speaker, said during a session of the National Assembly on Tuesday.
Presenting the government’s bill in connection with economic measures related to the coronavirus, Kövér insisted that European Union member states must decide together on the conditions for the loan that they proposed to raise jointly.
The Speaker said that
Hungary, even though it did not itself need the loan, was willing to stand in solidarity with southern member states, given the exceptional nature of the emergency, with a view to maintaining the bloc’s viability.
But, he added, the loan should be used exclusively to stabilise the EU’s troubled economies and lay the foundations to boost the bloc’s competitiveness, he said.
The government is seeking the support of Hungarian lawmakers to put pressure on the EU to distribute the bloc’s rescue package equably and to ditch plans to condition funds on states meeting expectations regarding the rule of law.
A summit of EU leaders is taking place this week to discuss the EU’s 2021-27 budget and post-pandemic recovery.
Source: MTI