BRUSSELS — Buckle up for the first Donald Trump-inspired EU presidency.
Hungary unveiled “Make Europe Great Again” as the strapline for its upcoming six-month presidency of the Council of the EU, a period in which Hungarian diplomats will chair important meetings in Brussels and shape the bloc’s political agenda.
“Make America Great Again” was Trump’s campaign slogan when he successfully campaigned to become U.S. president in 2016. Trump is seeking to return to the White House in elections that will happen slap-bang in the middle of Hungary’s presidency.
“It is a reference to an active presidency,” Hungarian EU Affairs Minister János Bóka said. “It actually shows manifest the expectation that together we should be stronger than individually but that we should be allowed to remain who we are when we come together. It also portrays the idea that Europe is able to become an independent global actor in our transforming world.”
Journalists at a press conference questioned the Trumpian echoes of the new slogan. “You don’t have the sense of déjà vu because of Trump’s slogan. I don’t know if Donald Trump ever wanted to make Europe great again,” Bóka said.
The presidency also unveiled the Rubik’s cube as its logo, which Bóka described as “the essence of Hungarian genius.”
The minister explained Hungary would use its presidency to introduce a new competitive, “farmer-centered” agricultural deal and seek “more efficient protection of the external borders, to manage root causes of migration — and to improve a more efficient policy of return.”
At the same time, he went on, there will be an active effort to drive forward the EU’s enlargement progress and “we want to have substantial steps with regards to Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine.” There have been fears that Budapest is looking to derail or slow-walk Kyiv’s candidacy, given Orbán has openly sought to undermine relations with Ukraine and sought closer ties with Moscow.
The holder of the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU is expected to be a neutral broker and put aside its national interests to ensure the passage of legislation. European politicians, however, fear Budapest will use the high-profile position to its advantage while seeking an about-face on key policy areas.
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