Brussels, 01/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - As the Polish Presidency took over the EU's rotating presidency on 1 July, its predecessor, Hungary, received mixed reviews in the European Parliament for its six months at the helm. The Hungarian section of the European People's Party Group praised Budapest for “outstanding achievements”, like “strengthening the European economy, deepening integration and making Europe safer”. It praised Hungary for its work on the Roma and Danube strategies, closing membership talks with Croatia and helping Bulgaria and Romania to meet the requirements for Schengen accession. However, the Socialists and Democrats Group, and the Liberals, expressed disappointment about the results of the last six months. “We express our disappointment with the meagre results of the Hungarian Presidency”, the S&D Group spokesman told reporters, while his ALDE counterpart said: “The results are fairly meagre after six months' work”. They did praise Budapest for its work on finalising Croatia's accession talks, and noted that its presidency had been overshadowed by the sovereign debt and financial crises. (LoC)