The Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has criticised the Taoiseach Micheál Martin for saying Brussels should crack down on what he termed Hungary’s “abuse of vetoes” at EU Council meetings.
In a podcast with Shona Murray of Euronews last week, Mr Martin said that the European Union should pursue all instruments it has to stop an “unreasonable exploitation” of the veto mechanism, arguing that it could make the EU unworkable.
Mr Martin accused Mr Orbán of “unreasonably exploiting” the veto at Council meetings.
“We have always accepted unanimity on certain aspects and we think it’s been abused [by Hungary],” he said.
“I believe the European Union will not become workable if that abuse continues.
“I think there’s only so much Member States can take in terms of willful abuse of the veto.
“We’ve seen it play out in Ukraine. There are a number of instruments that we can use, and we shouldn’t be afraid to use them”.
On social media this morning, Mr Orbán said: “For us, Ireland is a symbol of liberty and sovereignty. For this reason, it is always shocking when we see that an Irish patriot chooses to stand on the side of an empire instead of national sovereignty. “
He added: “Please don’t ruin the love story between Irish and Hungarian patriots!”
