Brussels, 06/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - The Hungarian government and the European Commission are to meet on Friday 7 January, in Budapest, for the now traditional stock-taking between the incoming Council presidency and the Community executive arm of issues to be tackled during the coming half year. Until 30 June, the six-monthly presidency of the EU Council will be held by Hungary. This morning, there will be a plenary working session largely devoted to economic and financial matters and to the preparation of the European Council on 4 February, focusing on energy. The plenary session will be followed by bilateral colloquia between the various ministers and commissioners and by a joint press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Commission President José Manuel Duraõ Barroso.
The day prior to the meeting between the current presidency in office and the Commission was briefly troubled by a false alarm. Reports came from Hungary announcing that Baroness Ashton, who is the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice-president of the Commission, had missed the opening ceremony of the Hungarian presidency at the parliament in Budapest due to her assignment on Wednesday and Thursday to the Middle East (the announcement was then refuted). During the ceremony, Orban was to receive the presidency flag from his Belgian counterpart and predecessor at the helm of the EU, Yves Letherme. Ashton, who was to represent the Commission during handover, was also to deliver a speech on the EU's institutional reforms and the prospects of the Hungarian presidency at Corvinus University of Budapest.
Today's meeting will not be free from polemic over the Hungarian media law which may be the subject of hearings at the Parliament next week, with a view to debate during the plenary session to open in Strasbourg on 17 January.
Martin Schulz, who heads the S&D Group, formally called on the European Assembly's committee on civil liberties to investigate the new law. This initiative could result in the Parliament having recourse to its power to open sanctions procedure against Hungary. Guy Verhofstadt of the ALDE Group warned that such a law could stifle public debate and criticism and be detrimental to the media market economy and the media's political independence. ALDE is organising a public hearing in Brussels on 11 January on freedom of the press in Hungary, to be attended by Commissioner Neelie Kroes. “With such behaviour, Hungary is undermining a fundamental EU value and casting a shadow of doubt over the Hungarian presidency of the EU Council”, Guy Verhofstadt warns. (Gp/transl.jl)