Index – National – Judit Varga tells the BBC: it is not true that we only accept money, but the principles are not

Yesterday, Justice Minister Judit Varga made a statement for BBC World News. In his Facebook post, the minister stated:

Please don’t be surprised that a minute and a half of the 5 and a half minute interview was conducted by a presenter full of errors of fact and accusations.

The host of the show summarized the topic of the conversation as follows:

In fact, it is a question of how much we can allow a Member State to deviate from the common ideas and values ​​of the EU before being punished.

Varga was quoted in a Twitter post saying:

Victory! We have succeeded in decoupling ideological expectations from financial support during a pandemic and avoiding political blackmail.

When asked by the presenter why he thinks the Hungarian government has won, the minister replied as follows:

The biggest victory was the victory of common sense because the EU has managed to put aside ideological debates and focus on fighting the pandemic. Contracts and political extortion cannot be circumvented in the EU.

After a question from a journalist, Judit Varga said that Hungary would receive around 22 billion euros from the EU over the next seven years, the BBC presenter said:

Many people who are watching this broadcast may think that they are accepting the money, but they are not willing to play it according to the democratic principles of the EU.

The Minister responded to the statement:

I categorically reject this, there is no moral basis for it. The essence of the union is that it is a common market. If Hungary spends cohesion money, it does not mean that the benefits in terms of GDP will remain here.

The journalist who led the conversation closed the program with:

We may continue this conversation at some point because the legal process is expected to take years.