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Hungary is set to take over the EU Council presidency in the second half of 2024. Given the state of the rule of law in the country, there are doubts whether Hungary will be able to successfully fulfill tis role. A debate on whether it should be blocked from taking over the presidency on 1 July 2024 is in full swing.
There has been a lot of noise around whether Hungary should, and legally could, be blocked from taking over the Council presidency in the second half of 2024, considering the state of the rule of law in the country. On 1 June, the European Parliament adopted a resolution, questioning Hungary’s ability to “credibly fulfill” the tasks of a Council presidency and asking the Council to “find a proper solution as soon as possible”, else Parliament could take “appropriate measures”.
The Meijers Committee has laid out avenues how the Hungarian presidency could be postponed here and here, despite such possibility not explicitly foreseen by the Treaties. Proponents of doing so argue that a member state in breach of EU fundamental values and subject to the suspension of EU funds on rule of law grounds should not be able to chair one of the main EU institutions. Such concerns are legitimate, but another question seems to be sidelined in the debate: How much practical damage can the upcoming Council presidency under Hungary actually do in the EU?
The answer is, arguably, not all that much.
The institutional role of a Council presidency
The presidency of the Council rotates between EU member states every six months. Member states holding the presidency work in groups of three (‘trio’) to ensure consistency and coherence in the Council’s work. Hungary is set to be in a trio together with Spain (second half of 2023) and Belgium (first half of 2024)...
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