1 July 2024
Hungary holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the second time between 1 July 2024 and 31 December 2024. The Hungarian presidency programme and its priorities together with the presidency motto and logo were presented to the public on 18 June 2024.
During the press conference in Budapest, Minister for European Union Affairs János Bóka underlined that Hungary is taking over the presidency in a very difficult environment: “Europe is facing shared challenges of the war in our neighbourhood, global competition, a fragile security situation, illegal migration, natural disasters, the effects of climate change, and the demographic situation.”
2024 is the year of transition in the EU, thus the presidency will involve working with the newly established European Parliament and European Commission to ensure a smooth institutional transition. Minister Bóka emphasized that “At the beginning of the new institutional cycle, we have the opportunity to launch and initiate debates and show the way on many important issues. We will be honest brokers, loyally working with all Member States and institutions.”
During its six-month presidency, Hungary will focus on the following seven priorities:
1. New European Competitiveness Deal
2. The reinforcement of European defence policy
3. A consistent and merit-based enlargement policy
4. Stemming illegal migration
5. Shaping the future of cohesion policy
6. A farmer-oriented EU agricultural policy
7. Addressing demographic challenges
The logo and motto of the Hungarian presidency have been also presented: the motto will be “Make Europe Great Again”. According to Minister Bóka the motto “refers to an active, proactive presidency, and that we are stronger together than we are apart; reflects the perception that Europe can become an independent global player and is able to effectively represent its strategic interests, not only in cooperation with partners and allies, but also on its own, if necessary”.
The logo of the Hungarian presidency is based on a world-famous Hungarian invention, the Rubik's cube, which was invented by Ernő Rubik in 1974. The cube symbolises the Hungarian nation’s ingenuity, creativity, problem-solving ability and complexity of European affairs. The cube is made up of 27 elements, exactly the number of Member States of the EU, reflecting to that “although we often think in many different ways, the cube, once solved, gives us the opportunity to see both European unity and the will and interests of the member states and nations at the same time” said Zoltán Kovács, government commissioner responsible for the operational tasks of Hungary's EU Council presidency in the second half of 2024.
More information about the programme, motto and logo of the Hungarian presidency can be found here.
