12 December 2024

The series of parliamentary events of the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2024 concluded with the Interparliamentary Conference on Cultural Heritage and the Identity of National Communities organised by the Hungarian National Assembly on 4-5 December 2024.

In his opening speech, László Kövér, Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly pointed out: Europe's cultural heritage and the future of the continent are rooted in the creative power of European citizens, and this creative power lies in national identity. It is the citizens who have a national identity, which stems from their mother tongue, their culture and their homeland. The Speaker proposed that the United Nations (UN) take the initiative to add to the latest generation of universal human rights, the right to national identity, a right that has been sorely lacking until now. He stressed that the right to national identity is the right of all human beings to freely inherit from their ancestors their mother tongue, their culture and the familiarity of their homeland, and to freely transmit it to their descendants.

7 December 2024

The Museum of the Hungarian Parliament organised the event for higher education students aiming to model legislative work, the “Model of Parliament” (Mint-a-Parlament) on 20 November 2024. In line with the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union, the organisers were looking for proposals from the applicant groups that would approach the priorities set by the Hungarian presidency in a way that could be regulated in Hungarian legislation, adapted to the Hungarian situation. From the proposals received, the expert staff of the Office of the Hungarian National Assembly recommended for discussion the following with the title: ‘Amending Act I of 2012 on the Labour Code to ensure stability and sustainability at work for the improvement of European competitiveness’. On 20 November students from the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary, the Széchenyi István University and the Ludovika University of Public Service debated the legislative proposal in the Building of the Parliament, which was adopted as the final stage of the modelling.

29 November 2024

This year the series of parliamentary events linked to the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2024 finishes with the Interparliamentary Conference on Cultural Heritage and the Identity of National Communities on 4-5 December 2024. Complementing the series of interparliamentary conferences held so far, given the importance of the topic, the event is organised by the Hungarian National Assembly as an optional programme of the Hungarian presidency's parliamentary dimension. The event, expected to be attended by 150 people, provides a framework for interparliamentary debate on current European issues concerning the situation and challenges of national communities and the presentation of good practices in the corresponding policies.

18 November 2024

In the framework of the parliamentary cooperation of the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group (JPSG) on the Europol has held its meeting, co-organised with the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) of the European Parliament, on 12 November 2024 in Brussels. The event, which took place in the European Parliament, was attended by delegations from 24 EU Member States and Members of the European Parliament. The conference was co-chaired by Dr. Imre Vejkey, Chair of the Committee on Justice, Lajos Kósa, Chair of the Committee on Defence and Law Enforcement of the Hungarian National Assembly, and Javier Zarzalejos, Chair of the EP LIBE Committee. Speaking on behalf of the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU, Bence Rétvári, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Interior, said in his keynote speech that illegal migration causes an unprecedented threat to European security. He urged the EU to provide all assistance to member states to maintain security and support national law enforcement authorities. Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, was not present in person at the event, but sent a video message summarising the European Commission's work against organised crime over the past five years. She stressed that Europol's mandate has been strengthened, underlining that the most important task is to keep citizens secure and safe.

8 November 2024

​​​​​​​​​​​​The series of parliamentary events linked to the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2024 continues on 12 November 2024 with the meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group (JPSG) on Europol  in Brussels, co-organised with the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) of the European Parliament. The event is co-chaired by Lajos Kósa, Chair of the Committee on Defence and Law Enforcement, Imre Vejkey, Chair of the Committee on Justice of the Hungarian National Assembly and Javier Zarzalejos, Chair of the LIBE Committee.