Latest news with #Bóka
Budapest Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Budapest Times
Bóka: Ukraine is not ready to move forward in EU enlargement process
János Bóka, the minister in charge of EU affairs, said on Thursday that Ukraine is not ready to move forward in the European Union enlargement process, adding that he has asked the European Commissioner for Enlargement to revise the EC's supportive position on Ukraine's accession. Minister Bóka posted his letter with his request addressed to Marta Kos on Facebook. He noted in his post that President Zelensky has signed a law that undermines the independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies. Minister Bóka also referred to violence perpetrated during forced recruitment to the army and systematic deprivation of national minority rights, adding that new legislation and various measures all supported this position. In the letter, Minister Bóka asked the EC to revise its recommendation to open the first cluster of negotiations.
Budapest Times
7 days ago
- Politics
- Budapest Times
Bóka: Unfolding political struggle between sovereigntists and federalists will define coming decades
János Bóka, Hungary's EU affairs minister, said the unfolding political struggle between sovereigntists and federalists will define the coming decades. Minister Bóka told a panel discussion at the 34th Balvanyos Summer Open University and Student Camp in Băile Tușnad (Tusnadfurdo) that one of the most significant dividing lines between European party families is whether they consider themselves federalists or sovereigntists, emphasising that European institutions and European policy were in need of change. Minister Bóka said this key difference between political groupings also impacted the division of powers and how the EU's institutional system functioned. 'This struggle between two political wings is just starting to unfold, and it will define the coming decades,' he said, adding that the political discourse would also shift in this direction. Minister Bóka said Europeans were unsure about what to do in order to bring about change in the EU. He said there appeared to be no limit to the number of national governments that could fail because of the migration crisis without it triggering a change in the EU's migration policy. The minister said this raised the questions as to whether European citizens still had a role in shaping politics, whether European democracy still existed and whether sovereignty still mattered. Minister Bóka said an EU member state should have the chance to shape certain policies if they did not work at the European level. 'This is exactly what Hungary is doing regarding migration, for which it has to pay a serious monetary and political price,' he said.
Budapest Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- Budapest Times
Bóka: Ukraine will get 366 billion euros from next seven-year EU budget
It is unprecedented that budgetary planning in the European Union should focus not on member states or European citizens but on the interests of an "external entity," János Bóka said. János Bóka, the EU affairs minister, said on public radio Sunday morning that Ukraine will get 366 billion euros from the next seven-year budget of the European Union, according to the calculations of Hungary's government, that is to say every fifth euro paid into the budget by European taxpayers will end up, directly or indirectly, in Ukraine. On the EUR 2,000 billion EU budget framework, Bóka said a 100 billion euro fund is earmarked as direct support for Ukraine, but the country will also benefit from the EU's defence industry spending, the European Peace Facility, weapons purchase funds as well as the Erasmus, Horizon and cross-border cooperation programmes, he said. It is unprecedented that budgetary planning in the European Union should focus not on member states or European citizens but on the interests of an 'external entity,' the minister said. According to the Commission's plans, the common agricultural policy fund and the cohesion funds would be replaced by uniform national plans, which would include agricultural funds and cohesion funds as well as home affairs funds, Bóka said. The sum of these funds would amount to less than half of the total budget in the next seven years as compared to two-thirds in the current budget, he added. Agricultural and cohesion funds will be the biggest losers of the new budget, of which Hungary has been a prominent beneficiary, Bóka said, adding that these funds would be tied to the adoption of a so-called national plan. The national plan would include measures by member states similar to the current recovery fund reform plan, that is to say, the commission would expect alignment on political issues, and if this does not happen, the member states concerned will not have access to the funds at all, he said. 'Our experience is that this conditionality has been used by the Commission to exert political and ideological pressure, and we have no reason to doubt that this will continue to be the case in the future,' Bóka said.
Budapest Times
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Budapest Times
Bóka: EU calls for change and ‘it cannot wait'
János Bóka, Hungary's European affairs minister, said the European Union calls for change and 'it cannot wait'. Posting on Facebook on Wednesday, ahead of the European Commission's publishing its draft budget for the next seven years, Minister Bóka said the draft to be presented would 'make clear the difference between Brussels' and Hungary's views on Europe'. 'Brussels would send Hungarians' money to Ukraine, while we would keep those funds at home … Brussels would open doors wide open to illegal migration, while we would stem it,' the minister said. 'We will clearly see what kind of Europe they want, and we will clearly indicate what kind of Europe we wish to see,' Minister Bóka said.
Budapest Times
12-07-2025
- Business
- Budapest Times
Bóka: Péter Magyar's platform is being drafted in Brussels
Minister Bóka said Péter Magyar is helping foreign-funded civil groups to be given free rein to conduct political activities in Hungary. János Bóka, Hungary's EU affairs minister, said on Tuesday that another chapter has been added to opposition Tisza Party leader Péter Magyar's platform in Brussels in the form of the document entitled 'Rule-of-law Recommendations', adding that the document was 'nothing more than a politically-motivated order for Magyar'. In a post on Facebook, Minister Bóka said the aim of the recommendations was for 'foreign-funded so-called civil groups to be given free rein to conduct political activities in Hungary, for which they could receive an unlimited amount of foreign funding in an uncontrolled manner'. The minister said the aim was also for 'foreign-funded media' to receive public funding, and for 'smear campaigns against right-wing politicians and public figures to become an institutionalised practice based on the Polish model'. 'This is not about the protection of the rule of law, but about institutionalised political pressure,' he said. 'Brussels has also drafted Péter Magyar's economic policy programme in advance; these are the European Semester recommendations,' Minister Bóka said He said Brussels wanted to scrap Hungary's regulated utilities price scheme, the interest rate freeze and the mandatory caps on markups. Brussels also wanted Hungary to phase out home creation subsidies, scrap taxes on excessive corporate profits and tax refunds on diesel fuel for farmers, he added. 'The aim is to draft an economic policy that serves Brussels's expectations against the interests of the Hungarian people,' Minister Bóka said. He said Brussels had made it clear that 'Magyar can say whatever he wants in the campaign, but Ukraine has to be admitted to the European Union before 2030', regardless of what the European people may think about this and what consequences this may have for Europe. 'Magyar's platform is being drafted in Brussels,' Minister Bóka said. 'It goes by many names — recommendation, reform, report — but the essence is always the same: they want to control Hungary from Brussels through a puppet government.'
