ČRo Plus | Hungary takes over the European Presidency. How will the country considered to be the EU's troublemaker handle it?

Hungary took over the EU presidency today, giving Budapest, perceived as a troublemaker in the European institutions, a different role for six months. At the same time, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced over the weekend the formation of a new alliance in the European Parliament with the Czech ANO movement and the Freedom Party of Austria. Viktor Daněk, deputy director of EUROPEUM Institute, comments on the formation of the new alliance.

They will not be of much use in the European Parliament itself, because the party looks like it will be relatively small. In any case, it will be on the fringes of the political spectrum and influence. I think that the members of this party will have very little chance of getting anything through and getting interesting legislation through as negotiators. This is because of the way the EP works, where the size of the group really matters. But I do not think that the members of this caucus mind at all. It is being formed for other reasons and it is aimed at domestic voters.

You can listen to the full interview here.

Viktor Daněk
Deputy Director

Before entering the NGO sphere, Viktor Daněk worked for almost ten years as a journalist. During his time with the public service Czech radio, he focused mainly on covering EU affairs. He spent almost five years as a permanent correspondent in Brussels, where he cooperated with other media outlets. Before his career in journalism, he gained experience in the area of marketing and communication in the Česká spořitelna banking group and at the Czech Technical University in Prague. He holds university degrees in Media Studies and International Relations. Viktor Daněk joined the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy in October 2023. He continues to be active in the media as a freelancer. His main areas of interest are institutional questions of European integration, globalisation and the EU’s climate and migration policy.