Evenly split between left and right-leaning parties, old and young, career politicians and academics, Hungary’s 24 newly-elected MEP’s will be in the thick of action. They will muster their professional experiences in local Hungarian politics and examine just
how to put their expertise into play in Europe’s super-parliament.

Many of the newly elected representatives recently left day-to-day national politics, and will have to learn the ins and outs of the EP very fast if they want to be on equal footing with more experienced EP members. Each, however, hopes to reach the principal EP goal: how to best serve national interests. Even former observers will have to broaden their knowledge of how the EU works.

“The rules of the Parliament change as its powers evolve, so there is always something new to learn,” said socialist MEP Alexandra Dobolyi, who worked in Brussels, and was secretary of the Foreign Policy Committee of Hungarian Socialist Party (HSP).

For those who made the most of their time as a former EP observer, the fruits of their labor will reap rewards in the first days of the five-year EP term. Three active observers in the Hungarian delegation, József Szájer from center-right Fidesz–Hungarian Civic Union list, HSP representative Magda Kósa-Kovács and Alliance of Free Democrat (AFD) MEP István Szent-Iványi, are already benefiting from having made contacts in recent months.

Labor rules

Kósa-Kovács, for her part, says she will try to resolve disparities between Hungarian and EU labor rules, making politicians in her party-group see that Hungary does have a strict labor-protection system in place. She will also prioritize anti-discrimination strategies. Kósa-Kovács’s role in the EP will also have more weight as she was elected vice president of the European Socialists’ Party.

Hungarian conservatives have also shown good standing within the European People’s Party and European Democrats (EPP-ED), the largest parliamentary group, by the fact the party’s July Europe-wide strategy meeting was held in Budapest.

Strong positions within their parties is a must for the ambitious, but relatively few Hungarian MEPs underline the need for cooperation among the whole “team.” As young socialist MEP Alexandra Dobolyi explains it, the plenary does what the committees suggest, while the stance of committees on any given issue is negotiated between different party groupings, which usually vote as agreed in party work-groups. In most cases this means Hungarian MEPs can exert the most influence on proceedings if they convince other members in work-groups. Szájer has also been elected vice-president of his party, and as such he also hopes to use this influence to further Hungarian interests, having gained experience in lobbying in the run-up to the creation of a European Convention..

Agriculture, a sour point

One lobbying issue shared by both socialist and conservative MEPs from Hungary is that farmers in new member states should receive the same amount in EU subsidies as EU-15 farmers. Accession negotiations were closed with an agreement that new members would get only 25 percent of subsidies available to older members. While subsidies are set to be gradually raised, the issue has the potential to create unrest among the agricultural sector in new EU members.

“I don’t have many illusions,” says socialist agricultural specialist and delegation leader Csaba Tabajdi, “but I think that even shortening the phasing-in period by a few years would be a success.”

Another issue of national interest amongst Hungarian MEPs is making use of Hungary’s geographically central position in Europe. That is, making sure as many EU transportation corridors pass through Hungary, thereby assuring EU funds for the building of local motorways.

“This is not a question of left or right,” says socialist MEP Zita Gurmai, who made the issue one of her priority projects during her stay as a Brussels observer. Hungarian MEPs are also planning to make use of the fact that many Hungarian problems and interests are shared by other new members.

Regional environmental challenges

“We have many environmental problems in common that the older members do not share,” says conservative MEP Péter Olajos, who represents the Hungarian Democratic Forum (HDF), and considers his principal goal the creation of an environmental protection fund that focuses on new members.

“Taking care of environmental damage done, and left untreated by the Soviet troops, would take about 40 years if we were left on our own with this problem,” he points out.

Olajos has a strategy of how to achieve this goal. Firstly, he intends to address the Visegrad countries to achieve support and consensus on the issue, and will then spread his efforts to MEPs of countries with similar, but not identical problems, such as Germany and Denmark, he explains.

“I don’t think I will see any result before 2006, though,” he adds.

The fact Olajos that has a concrete goal and a plan is a rare commodity amongst Hungarian MEPs. Most are waiting to see what committee and subcommittee positions they get before committing themselves to any particular project. Wish-lists drawn up by the delegation are likely to undergo numerous changes as party group and interparty negotiations progress.

Both socialist and conservative Hungarian delegations have declared they would like to cover as many positions as possible. The danger is, as past experience has shown, MEPs should consult with each other before compiling such wish-lists to ensure the best possible mix in different professional committees. Such strategizing on a national level, however, has yet to take place among the Hungarians, sources say.

One downside to the Hungarian delegation is a lack of expertise on economic questions, considered to be among the most significant dimension of the EU for most Hungarians. Two rare examples, however, are Socialist MEP Szabolcs Fazakas, a former economic minister and head of Daimler Chrysler Central Europe, and infrastructurespecialist conservative Etelka Barsi-Pataky.

Specialized fields

Many members of the Hungarian delegation are actually specialized in fields on the margins of daily Hungarian politics, including minority or women’s issues, developing countries or sports and youth issues. Conservative MEP Lívia Járóka, for example, is the sole Roma representative in the EP, much to even her astonishment.

"My job is to be the voice of the gypsies in Europe and to make politicians see the world from the point of view of the Roma who are marginalized across Europe," she told French news agency AFP. A former radio announcer on Radio C, which runs gypsy programming in Hungary, Jaroka is currently finishing her doctoral thesis in anthropology at the University College of London on gypsy identity in the Roma-dominated eighth district of Budapest. But even though ethnic discrimination is a serious problem in Hungary, where 5 percent of the population is Roma, many minority-specialized MEPs from Hungary have focused on Hungarian minorities in neighboring countries, opposed to problems facing minorities within Hungary.

Alexandra Dobolyi, who specializes in aid to developing countries, will likely be the sole Hungarian MEP in the Development and Cooperation Committee. While the issue of developing countries may be one of two important aspects of EU foreign policy, Hungary does not have an active history in developing close ties to many developing countries, with fast-moving China and Vietnam the notable exceptions to the rule. “As a member of Socialists International, I have met many politicians from third-world countries, and would like to work to help the development of their countries in the EP, while my knowledge of them will help me work in the Foreign Affairs or Development Committees,” Dobolyi says.

She cites the work of the Hungarian-based international development agency Tesco as an example to be followed, adding that the organization has already helped plan EUfunded projects in Vietnam.

“It is impossible to upgrade developing economies in one go, so it is very important to grab one problem, be it water-shortage, the lack of roads or drainpipes, and try and solve that,” she says, although she does not yet have a list of concrete projects to be done. Looking at the particular mix of skills Hungarian MEPs bring to the EP, it is obvious some will end up in committees dealing with topics they are not experienced in. And the relatively small number of economy-oriented Hungarian MEPs may mean that many committees will not get expert Hungarian MEPs in particular topics. In any event, EP members attain some knowledge on committee topics during the course of work. “Even if MEPs are not initially the established experts of their committees, they can learn,” says Dobolyi. - with reporting by Kósa András.