BUDAPEST/BRUSSELS: Hungary’s nationalist government launches its presidency of the European Union on Monday with a Trump-like call to “Make Europe Great Again” after EU lawmakers questioned whether it should be allowed to take on the role.
Their concerns are based on Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s many clashes with Brussels over democratic norms.
Hungarian diplomats say the country will be an honest broker, while analysts say Budapest’s actions at the forefront of EU policy-making are likely to be restricted given that Brussels is in a transition phase following elections in June.
The presidency’s role is to set the agenda, chair meetings of EU members in all fields except foreign or euro zone matters, seek consensus among EU member states and broker agreements on legislation with the European Parliament.
It will take months for a new European Commission and the new members of parliament to be in their stride, analysts say.
That means that, even though far-right gains politicians potentially sympathetic to Hungary’s priorities made gains in the EU elections, the presidency’s ability to drive policy through is limited.
“There’ll only be a small influence on the legislative agenda. That starts much later, possibly at the end of the year, possibly at the beginning of next year,” said Pavel Havlicek, research fellow at the Association for International Affairs.
Hungary has said its priorities include pushing western Balkan membership of the EU, illegal migration and economic competitiveness.
Critics note its enlargement push does not include Ukraine.
Hungary has a history of blocking or delaying funds and arms for Ukraine, as well as maintaining ties with Moscow. It has also criticized EU efforts to cut dependence on China.
Ahead of its assumption of the EU presidency, the bloc hurried through new sanctions against Russia and launched membership talks with Ukraine.
Susi Dennison, senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said a “ballsy” presidency launch suggested Hungary might seek to push its nationalist line.
Johannes Greubel, senior policy analyst at the European Policy Center, said some of priorities, such as on competitiveness, struck a chord with the rest of the EU, but this would likely be combined with right-wing rhetoric on migration, the Ukraine war and the rule of law.
“It is a presidency of a mixed narrative, but far-right elements will prevail.”
Hungary takes EU presidency echoing Trump but likely to lack bite
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Hungary takes EU presidency echoing Trump but likely to lack bite
- In launching a Trump-like call to make to “Make Europe Great Again”, Hungary's PM promises to be an honest broker
- Hungary has a history of blocking or delaying funds and arms for Ukraine, as well as maintaining ties with Moscow
Bangladesh begins exhuming mass grave from 2024 uprising
- The United Nations says up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as Hasina attempted to cling to power — deaths that formed part of her conviction last month for crimes against humanity
DHAKA: Bangladeshi police began exhuming on Sunday a mass grave believed to contain around 114 unidentified victims of a mass uprising that toppled autocratic former prime minister Sheikh Hasina last year.
The UN-supported effort is being advised by Argentine forensic anthropologist Luis Fondebrider, who has led recovery and identification missions at mass graves worldwide for decades.
The bodies were buried at the Rayerbazar Graveyard in Dhaka by the volunteer group Anjuman Mufidul Islam, which said it handled 80 unclaimed bodies in July and another 34 in August 2024 — all people reported to have been killed during weeks of deadly protests.
The United Nations says up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as Hasina attempted to cling to power — deaths that formed part of her conviction last month for crimes against humanity.
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief Md Sibgat Ullah said investigators believed the mass grave held roughly 114 bodies, but the exact number would only be known once exhumations were complete.
“We can only confirm once we dig the graves and exhume the bodies,” Ullah told reporters.
- ‘Searched for him’ -
Among those hoping for answers is Mohammed Nabil, who is searching for the remains of his brother Sohel Rana, 28, who vanished in July 2024.
“We searched for him everywhere,” Nabil told AFP.
He said his family first suspected Rana’s death after seeing a Facebook video, then recognized his clothing — a blue T-shirt and black trousers — in a photograph taken by burial volunteers.
Exhumed bodies will be given post-mortem examinations and DNA testing. The process is expected to take several weeks to complete.
“It’s been more than a year, so it won’t be possible to extract DNA from the soft tissues,” senior police officer Abu Taleb told AFP. “Working with bones would be more time-consuming.”
Forensic experts from four Dhaka medical colleges are part of the team, with Fondebrider brought in to offer support as part of an agreement with the UN rights body the OHCHR.
“The process is complex and unique,” Fondebrider told reporters. “We will guarantee that international standards will be followed.”
Fondebrider previously headed the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, founded in 1984 to investigate the tens of thousands who disappeared during Argentina’s former military dictatorship.
Authorities say the exhumed bodies will be reburied in accordance with religious rites and their families’ wishes.
Hasina, convicted in absentia last month and sentenced to death, remains in self-imposed exile in India.
