You have to feel sorry for Hungarian officials.

Despite Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s track record as the EU's provocateur-in-chief, diplomats have been working overtime to stress that Budapest wants to have a normal, successful period when it steps into its role as referee of discussions between EU countries starting July 1.

But the choice of the rip-off Trump slogan "Make Europe Great Again" as Hungary's motto for the six-month stint gives an inkling that maybe not everyone is entirely on message.

While the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU is meant to put countries in the role of honest broker, asking them to set aside national interests to achieve compromise between countries, the reality is that the position comes with key agenda-setting power in Brussels. The question is what Hungary will do with that.

“We are aware of the fact that we will be watched very closely whether we cooperate sincerely with member states and institutions and whether we will be honest brokers,” Hungary’s EU Minister János Bóka told POLITICO.

“This will be scrutinized closely, and maybe even the standards will be higher with Hungary than with other presidencies,” he said, stressing that Budapest would meet this higher bar. 

The problem? Brussels ain’t buying it. 

In recent years, Budapest has been a constant thorn in the EU’s side, notably delaying or watering down sanctions against Russia, blocking military aid to Ukraine, and not upholding the rule of law domestically — an ongoing saga that led the EU to block (and then partially unblock) funds for Hungary.

With few believing that Orbán won’t use the opportunity afforded by the presidency to tilt things in his direction, the EU has worked hard to get a number of sensitive files out of the way before the Belgian presidency expires: Opening accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova, pushing through another sanctions package against Russia and waving through billions in military aid for Ukraine. 

“The pressure on the Belgian presidency was clearly there: get the deals done before Orbán comes in, to limit too much damage,” said one EU diplomat who, like others in this article, was granted anonymity to speak candidly. 

Until earlier this month, Budapest continued to block a number of key files, much to the irritation of the other 26 countries. There was even talk of withdrawing Hungary's voting rights.

“Any normal presidency would want to get those files off the table to create some goodwill before they take over,” an EU official said. “But that’s not how the Hungarians work. They waited until the last minute to unblock.” ...

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