Hungary launches anti-EU campaign without the Commission raising an eyebrow

Hungary launches anti-EU campaign without the Commission raising an eyebrow
European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Alex Soros, chair of the Open Society Foundations, on billboard in Hungarian consultation campaign

The Hungarian government launched last Friday a national consultation on EU-related policies which reminded the European Commission about a similar campaign in 2019.

The new campaign is a kind of non-binding referendum and consist of 11 questions. Each question starts with a statement about an alleged EU policy, often formulated in a leading or inaccurate way. Citizens have two alternative responses to choose from – one is to support the government’s position, the other one is to disagree with it.

Normally a minority of citizens replies to these types of public consultations but a majority of those who do reply use to agree with the government. In most cases the government’s position is at odds with the EU position or the consensus among the EU member states.

Asked at today’s press conference (20 November) whether the Commission intended to react to the campaign, chief spokesperson Eric Mamer replied that the Commission did not intend to comment on the consultation even if the statements in it are untrue. He relied on the Hungarian citizens to inform themselves about EU’s policies and to the media to inform them about the policies.

“European Commission President von der Leyen did not raise an eyebrow when she was seen a picture of a billboard where she appears together with Alex Soros,” the spokesperson said. Alex Soros is the son of the Hungarian-American financier and philanthropist George Soros and the current chair of the Open Society Foundations.

The text on the billboards says, “Let’s not dance to their tune”.

When the Hungarian government launched an anti-migration campaign on billboards and newspaper advertisements ahead of the European Parliament elections in May 2019, the Commission decided to react and issued a point-by-point fact sheet against the Hungarian claims and “fake news”. Then the billboards showed former Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and George Soros.

“The Hungarian government campaign distorts the truth and seeks to paint a dark picture of a secret plot to drive more migration to Europe,” the Commission said in 2019. Then the campaign had clear antisemitic undertones.

The spokesperson underlined that the Commission’s position on antisemitism is well-known. “We aren’t going to be drawn into a debate about a consultation on which we haven’t been consulted, which isn’t directed to us and which certainly isn’t in line with practices we use when we are asking the public specific questions.”

The 11 statements in the consultation

  1. Brussels wants to abolish the subsidies on household utility charges.
  2. Brussels wants to abolish the interest rate cap.
  3. Brussels wants to abolish windfall taxes in Hungary.
  4. Brussels wants to create migrant ghettos in Hungary too.
  5. Financial support from Brussels to Palestinian organizations has also reached Hamas.
  6. Brussels would send more weapons to Ukraine.
  7. Brussels wants more money to support Ukraine.
  8. Brussels wants to accept Ukraine as a Member State of the European Union.
  9. Brussels wants to allow in genetically modified Ukrainian grain.
  10. Brussels wants to abolish the Child Protection Act.
  11. They want to influence Hungarian politics using money from Brussels and overseas.

M. Apelblat

The Brussels Times


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