Experiences and Outcomes of the Hungarian EU Presidency in Strengthening Flood Resilience at the European Level

Abstract

Floods are becoming increasingly frequent and intense across Europe, while the impacts of climate change pose mounting challenges. Since watercourses do not recognise national borders, the need to strengthen flood risk resilience at the EU level and to coordinate national measures has become ever more pressing. Flood events in recent years have highlighted that managing natural risks is gradually becoming a shared responsibility at the European level. The Hungarian EU Presidency in the second half of 2024 provided an opportunity to bring the issue of flood resilience to the forefront of European-level discussions. This article presents the professional forums and tasks that laid the groundwork for the effectiveness of the Presidency and substantially contributed to the formulation of the Council conclusions on “The comprehensive strengthening of the European Union’s resilience against flooding.” The practice of the Hungarian Presidency demonstrates that well-prepared, multi-level professional consultations can provide both substantive depth and practical applicability to a Council conclusion.