On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron met his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán and expressed willingness to work together despite political differences. The meeting comes as France prepares to take over the European Union’s (EU) presidency starting January and marked Macron’s first visit to Hungary since entering office in 2017.
Macron said, “We have political disagreements which are well known, but we have the willingness to work together for Europe and to be loyal partners.” He added, “It is very clear that on the subject of the rule of law, there will be disagreements, but I think that on the subjects of sovereignty, on the subject of the growth model and on multiple subjects, there can also be an ability to find useful compromises.”
"Respect for the rule of law, media pluralism, and the fight against discrimination are at the heart of the European project", says #Macron in Budapest today.
— Daniel Freund (@daniel_freund) December 13, 2021
Words we don't hear too often when fellow heads of state/govt visit Viktor Orban. Things are moving.
Last week, Macron said he sees Orbán both as a European partner and a political opponent. Macron started his Budapest trip by laying a wreath at the tomb of Agnes Heller, a Hungarian philosopher and advocate of liberal democracy who opposed Orbán. In fact, he also met leaders of the opposition alliance, including Peter Marki-Zay, who will challenge Orbán in next year’s election.
Furthermore, Macron met with the leaders of the Visegrád Group—which is comprised of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia—to discuss measures to limit the flow of migrants between EU countries and ramp up the process of deporting failed asylum seekers back to their countries.
Likewise, before talks in Budapest, the Hungarian Prime Minister (PM) Orbán said he respects the French leader and supported Macron’s plans to make the Union more self-sufficient in its nuclear energy, defence, and farming needs. “France is the home of encyclopedists, they are the best when it comes to definitions, so we accept their definitions: what we heard lately from Mr President is that we are political opponents and at the same time European partners,” he said.
Other than Macron, Orbán has also received France’s far-right leaders, Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemmour, in the last two months. Both leaders are contesting in France’s upcoming presidential elections in which Macron is seeking another term. Both Le Pen and Zemmour have praised Orbán for his opposition to immigration; Zemmour has described Orbán as a “leader who defends his country's identity, sovereignty and borders.”
France and Hungary are at odds over several issues, including Hungary’s controversial LGBTQIA+ bill, the rule of law, immigration, and democratic standards. However, Macron is seeking support from the other EU countries for the agenda he has outlined for Paris’ EU presidency, which includes recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, plans to shore up EU’s defences, and securing the bloc’s borders.
Hungary has adopted several laws that violate EU principles. For instance, Hungary introduced a law that bans the dissemination of text discussing homosexuality to children under 18. Ahead of the 2022 election, Orbán is projecting himself as the defender of traditional Hungarian values against LGBT ideology. In addition, like Poland, Hungary has challenged the supremacy of EU law and prioritised national law.
As he visits Hungary today, Macron should tell Orban that his gov's crackdown on rule of law comes at a cost and that the French #EU presidency will push the EU sanctions mechanism & use the tool conditioning EU funds to the respect for EU founding values https://t.co/yaHEzbrGli pic.twitter.com/eoshuBKNjn
— Bénédicte Jeannerod (@BenJeannerod) December 13, 2021
In response, the European Commission has initiated several procedures against Budapest for violating the EU values and the rule of law, including the ‘conditionality’ mechanism that blocks the delivery of recovery funds. Concerning this, Macron said Hungary has failed to display the progress on the rule of law and discrimination issues and therefore, the EU will not release any stimulus fund payments.