It has been nearly two years since Hungary held the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Hungarian presidency lasted from 1 July to 31 December 2024, marking only the second time in the country’s history that it took on the role, following its first presidency in 2011.
To commemorate the occasion, Ludovika University Press published a three-part book series on the subject titled The 2024 Hungarian EU Presidency. The final volume was recently released. To celebrate the launch, the Ludovika University of Public Service hosted a book launch event at its Budapest campus on Friday, 19 June.
Dr Bernát Török, Director of the József Eötvös Research Centre, welcomed guests with opening remarks. He noted that books occupy a ‘league of their own’ among the publications issued by the university press, making the release of each volume a special occasion worthy of celebration. He added that the event also served as a celebration of Hungary’s membership in the European Union and of its presidency of the Council of the EU.
Dr Bernát Török PHOTO: Tamás Gyurkovits/Hungarian Conservative
Dr Török stressed that while fierce debates are often had about Hungary’s relationship with the European Union, it has consistently been the prevailing position of his research centre that EU membership is overall beneficial for the country. He also praised the book for making a rational and constructive contribution to that ongoing discussion.
Following his remarks, a panel of experts took to the stage to discuss the Hungarian presidency and its broader context. The panel featured Dr Tibor Navracsics, former Minister for Regional Development and Docent at Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Law; Dr Gábor Kutasi, Head of the Department of Economics and International Economics at Ludovika University; and Csaba Zalai, Professor of Public Service at Ludovika University. The discussion was moderated by Vivien Kalas-Pesztericz, Head of the Ludovika Europe Strategy Research Institute.
Mr Kutasi opened the panel by arguing that, by the time Hungary assumed the presidency in 2024, several negative trends had already converged within the European Union, leading to a ‘period of failure’. He elaborated that the EU’s share of global economic output had fallen to roughly half that of the United States, while its innovation performance had similarly lagged behind. As a consequence, he argued, the Union’s global influence had diminished significantly.
Mr Zalai described the period of the Hungarian presidency as ‘the calm before the storm’. He pointed out that 2024 was a ‘super election year’, with approximately 3.7 billion people taking to the polls around the world. These elections included the European Parliament elections, the Russian presidential election, the Indian parliamentary election, and—the most consequential of all—the US presidential election.
The speaker also referenced the Draghi Report, the 2024 analysis of the European Union’s economic competitiveness authored by Former Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy. According to Zalai’s summary, the report identified three pillars underpinning Europe’s economic strength: access to cheap Russian energy, the protection provided by American military power, and China’s relatively cooperative attitude towards the EU. In recent years, however, all three pillars have weakened, he pointed out, due to the loss of Russian energy imports following the Russo-Ukrainian War, growing American reluctance to spend on collective NATO defence, and the increasingly assertive posture of the Chinese communist regime.
Mr Navracsics told the audience that, by the time Hungary assumed the rotating presidency in 2024, confidence in the country had already eroded among a number of major EU Member States. He also argued that the Union had by then endured three major’plagues’: the uErozone crisis of 2009, Brexit in 2016, and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Dr Gábor Kutasi, Csaba Zalai, Dr Tibor Navracsics, and Vivien Kalas-Pesztericz (L-R) PHOTO: Tamás Gyurkovits/Hungarian Conservative
The former minister further noted that 2024 represented a period of institutional transition within the EU, with a new European Parliament being elected and a broader leadership cycle change taking place across the Union’s institutions. During this transitional period, he argued, Hungary’s role as Council president was primarily that of a mediator, providing the necessary infrastructure and framework for the Union’s continued operation.
Mr Navracsics also went on to share that the net contributors had already begun to question the investment strategy of providing cohesion funds to the less developed regions of the European single market.
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