István Ujhelyi is a former Hungarian parliamentarian, deputy speaker of the House, and state secretary. In the European Parliament, he has often addressed issues concerning tourism, which is his main area of attention.
Ujhelyi was an opponent of electing László Trócsányi as the Hungarian commissioner because he believed that somebody who had assisted in deteriorating the rule of law in Hungary should not become commissioner for enlargement, where he would have to make other countries enforce these principles. The MEP believes that the incumbent Hungarian government is following Russia’s steps in legislative terms, which is proven by the very similar NGO laws in the two countries and the closure of the CEU in Budapest and the European University in St. Petersburg. In a Facebook post in 2014, he approved the EU’s sanctions policy against Russia.
He frequently criticises the government for its close relations with Russia. In September 2019 Ujhelyi said that in late October Putin would visit Hungary to ask Viktor Orbán to report on how he implements power political tools in Hungary used by the Russian president. Ujhelyi is among the Hungarian MEPs who are concerned about Russian influence in the country, and he specifically highlighted the opening of the International Investment Bank’s HQ in Budapest as a national security threat.
According to investigative journal Direkt 36, the MEP “fell in love with China” at around the turn of the century, and has been trying to deepen cultural, educational, touristic ties with the country since then. Regarding his work with the Confucius Institute in Szeged, he said that it is “stupid” to think they are spreading propaganda and operate as a cover for Chinese intelligence agencies. He also told the portal that in 2013, when he was the vice-chair of the Hungarian National Assembly, Hungarian counter-intelligence was looking for a listening device in his office and, then, in 2014, they indicated to him that he should stop meeting one of his Chinese contacts. Sources told Direkt36 that such requests are usually made if someone gets into contact with a hostile foreign intelligence agent.
At a Political Capital-organized event in 2020, Ujhelyi said the practice that mainstream political and expert views are “pointing fingers at anyone who has ever met or spoke with a Chinese person” is a very negative development and he believes that cooperating with China are long-term EU and Hungarian interests. At the event, he criticized the US for bringing back the 60s and the 70s in the form of a new cold war with China.
István Ujhelyi is one of the few notable opposition politicians who do not outright reject the establishment of a Fudan University campus in Hungary, adding that it is “natural” that the university was offered land for its buildings, but he is against the sizeable loan Hungary would take to construct the campus. He is generally supportive of EU-China educational cooperation, praising the ties between the Shanghai International Studies University and the Confucius Institute in Szeged, which he helped found. MEP Ujhelyi is still the head of the Board of Directors of the SZTE Confucius Institute, according to the institute’s official site. The MEP is also the founder of the Europe China OBOR Committee, which is a civil society organization that aims to develop cultural and touristic ties between the EU and China. The founding session of OBOR was attended, besides Ujhelyi, by several high-level Chinese embassy and officials and university staff members.
At the above-mentioned event, István Ujhelyi agreed with MEP Márton Gyöngyösi that levying EU sanctions against China would be a mistake. In contrast, he disagreed with Gyöngyösi’s assessment that the EU’s sanctions policy against Russia is unworkable, noting that – instead – the EU should have committed to more extensive sanctions and acted swifter.
Ujhelyi did not vote on the EP resolution freezing the ratification process of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment even though he cast a vote on both the previous and next item on the agenda. In a response to an inquire by Political Capital, the MEP said that “based on the multipolar world order of today, the real cooperation of the two crucially important world actors [the EU and China], where both sides understand their cultural, social and economic differences, is key.” He added that there is a visible trend in the case of political statements approved by the European Parliament that emphasis has been moved from highly important human rights issues to “resolutions simplifying complex problems, sometimes not based on fully objective facts, giving primacy to politically motivated economic- and trade policy interests.” Ujhelyi noted that he did not want to partake in unconstructive political back and forth between the EU and any global actors, which is why he decided to not cast a vote on the CAI-related resolution.
(Updated: 13/7/2021)
In response to a media inquiry concerning his absence from votings, the MEP said that the votes were generally on Tuesday afternoons, when he had already set off for Hungary, as his wife was home with a small child. He added that there were only 2-3 China-related votes he did not support due to professional reasons as a member of the EP's delegation to China.
The MEP noted on Twitter that PM Orbán is preparing an arms deal with the German government, which might be payment to avoid being attacked in the EPP.
Ujhelyi criticized the CDU for not stopping PM Orbán’s illiberal efforts. He stated that the German ruling party turns a blind eye to the Hungarian premier’s domestic measures because of money. His evidence was that former EU Commissioner Günther Oettinger became the vice-chair of the Hungarian National Scientific Policy Council. Ujhelyi stated that Oettinger did nothing to stop the Russian-financed Paks II Nuclear Power Plant project as a commissioner.
He submitted a written question to the European Commission about PM Viktor Orbán’s promises on a Turkic Council summit that if Hungary got the enlargement portfolio, the Hungarian commissioner would help Azerbaijan and Turkey with “their efforts.” He asked how the Commission assesses the fact that the Turkic Council opened an office in Hungary. The Commission’s answer did not address the substance of his question.
István Ujhelyi criticised Heinz-Christian Strache on Facebook for wanting to build a media empire on Russian money.
