Additional EU resources must be made available so that all Member States benefit from the aid

Press Release by the Fidesz-KDNP Delegation to the European Parliament

Yesterday, the European Parliament supported EU measures concerning the coronavirus pandemic. MEPs acted under extraordinary circumstances and cast their votes in an unusual way, which, according to the consensus of several legal experts, raised issues that need to be clarified as soon as possible in terms of the rule of law and legal certainty. The agenda included one transport and two regional development related initiatives. The Fidesz-KDNP Delegation to the European Parliament supported all three proposals of the European Commission.

On the late-night vote, MEPs of Fidesz-KDNP delegation backed the European Commission’s financial initiatives that were announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on March 13 to assist Member States. Unfortunately, the European Commission’s financial proposals do not provide any additional resources for Hungary to combat the new coronavirus or to reduce its negative impacts. “Nevertheless, we considered it important to support the initiatives in the spirit of solidarity, as they provide significant assistance to many other Member States. However, it has to be stressed that new proposals from the European Commission are needed in the short term to ensure that countries that are not yet beneficiaries also receive additional resources,” pointed out MEP Tamás Deutsch, Head of the Fidesz-KDNP Delegation and member of the Committee on Regional Development. 

A particularly urgent transport proposal was also put on the plenary agenda due to the coronavirus outbreak. As a result of current regulation, the airlines were forced to operate even empty flights, endangering not only the operation of airlines and thousands of jobs, but also extremely damaging to the environment. “Apart from airlines, we need to look out for other players in the sector (air traffic control, airports, support staff), as they are just as severely affected by the current situation,” noted Fidesz MEP Andor Deli, member of the Committee on Transport and Tourism. He added that “This is true for the entire transportation sector, and here I would like to highlight freight transporters and drivers who, despite extremely difficult working conditions, are doing their utmost to provide necessary goods to the people and healthcare facilities.”