Ireland is also against the curtailment of the European Union’s Cohesion Fund for the next financial framework, and similar to Hungary it is a supporter of national fiscal policy, rather than of a policy determined in Brussels, Szabolcs Takács told the Hungarian news agency MTI by telephone following his talks in Ireland on Thursday.
The Minister of State for EU Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office had talks with Ireland’s Minister of State for European Affairs Helen McEntee, met with members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Union Affairs, and delivered a lecture at the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin.
At the talks the parties also focused on the problem of Britain’s departure from the EU. Mr Takács said that, similar to Ireland, Hungary has a vested interest in a soft Brexit with an agreement, and Budapest supports Dublin in its efforts to ensure that there is no “hard border” between Ireland and Northern Ireland. He said that parallel with this he asked his Irish partners to show solidarity on issues concerning Hungary, including the budgetary talks.
Mr Takács believes that, similar to Hungary, Ireland also shares the view that the current level of cohesion funds and agricultural grants must be maintained.
The parties further spoke about the upcoming May European parliamentary elections. Mr Takács confirmed that Hungary is committed to its traditional Christian democratic principles, and as part of these Hungary sees Europe’s future in supporting families, not in migration.
At the talks the parties confirmed that both Ireland and Hungary would like fiscal policy to remain within national competence. Neither Dublin, nor Budapest is able to accept a solution where Brussels federal bureaucracy withdraws fiscal policy from national competence and places it under community regulation.