Hungary ready to 'sort out' all EU problems in legal row

(STRASBOURG) - A Hungarian minister said Tuesday his government was ready to negotiate with the European Union executive after Brussels launched legal proceedings against a series of reforms.

"Hungary is ready to sort out all emerging issues in the course of the technical dialogue with the European Commission," Communications Minister Zoltan Kovacs told reporters at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

Kovacs said the government in Budapest was "confident" it would reach an agreement, after it was announced that Prime Minister Viktor Orban would travel to Brussels on January 24 to meet with Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso.

"We don't have an argument with the Commission on basic principles," Kovacs said.

"The debate goes back to the level where it belongs: technicalities and legal arguments."