Speaking on The Bold Truth about Hungary, a podcast of state secretary Zoltán Kovács, Gergely Gulyás said the European Commission had launched its conditionality procedure against Hungary after the general elections there, “making political motivations all the more likely.” Hungary, “trying to handle the situation on legal terms”, specified 17 requirements with the European Commission and subsequently fulfilled them, Gulyás said. A political debate ensued, which the EC couldn’t stay away from, he said. “If issues like this are judged not by the facts but by whether a member state’s government is likeable, or whether they are close to the mainstream or not, that will sooner or later dismantle the EU,” Gulyás said. The EU’s primary interest should be to preserve the unity needed for decision-making, he added. Hungary has done more than enough to reach an agreement with the EC, “but it seem the body is unable to form an objective opinion, and so the European Council will be hopefully more reliable in the conditionality procedure,” Gulyás said.