János Bóka, the minister responsible for European Union affairs, protested in a letter to Javier Zarzalejos, the chairman of the LIBE committee of the European Parliament, on Thursday.
The minister wrote on his Facebook page: in accordance with the usual practice in the framework of the EU presidency, the competent Hungarian ministers present the priorities of the Hungarian presidency to the committees of the European Parliament responsible for the given area, as he did on September 23 in the AFCO committee.
"However, instead of meaningful work, LIBE sabotaged the presentation of the priorities of the presidential program related to the areas of interior and justice. He tied the retention of the agenda to an unrelated, political condition, namely to the retention of a debate on the state of the rule of law in Hungary," he added.
According to János Bóka, "LIBE's regrettable decision is disrespectful to the Council as an institution of the European Union and seriously violates the principle of loyal cooperation.
It fits the pattern that the Presidency has experienced with regard to the co-legislative role of the European Parliament. The European Parliament refrains from conducting inter-institutional negotiations regarding several extremely important files that directly affect the situation of European citizens, such as the fight against corruption; minimum standards for the rights, support and protection of victims of crime; preventing and combating migrant smuggling; or revising the visa waiver suspension mechanism," he wrote.
János Bóka made it known: he expressed his protest in his reply letter to Javier Zarzalejos, the chairman of the European Parliament's LIBE committee, on Thursday.
"On the basis of party political considerations, the European Parliament hinders the constructive cooperation of the European Union institutions and thus weakens the unity of the European Union in today's particularly difficult period," wrote the minister.
The head of the ministry emphasized that the European Union and its member states are facing unprecedented dangers today, and it is a cause for concern that "the newly elected European Parliament is hindering the effective decision-making and unity of the European Union on the basis of party politics, institutional interests and power games in a period that is decisive for the fate of Europe".
MTI
Cover photo: János Bóka
Source: Facebook/János Bóka
