Hungary has been a committed promoter of the European Union’s enlargement in the Western Balkans, and sees it as a fundamental interest of European security and economy, Judit Varga, a Fidesz lawmaker, told Hungarian news agency MTI after talks in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In addition to the Hungarian leadership, from 2024, the Hungarian Defence Forces will contribute with additional forces to Operation Althea including helicopter airlift and bomb disposal capabilities.
The French and German political elites have apparently grown tired of the never-ending debates about the present and future of the European Union, which are impeding the integration goals they wish to see, and now want to force them to an end. In some ways, this would also mean a break with the ‘Europa auf Augenhöhe’ (‘Europe at eye level’) policy that made the EU so attractive in the 1990s, and it is to be expected that the ‘problematic’ member states of Central and Eastern Europe will not let this pass without a fight.
Simplistic labels like ‘liberal’ or ‘conservative’ for a rules-based, nations-centric approach are to be rejected—one can learn from former foreign minister of Hungary János Martini’s new English language book Nation and Europe: In Lieu of Memoirs which was presented to the audience on 18 September at Danube Institute.
In his introduction, Hölvényi emphasized that in recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic and wars have weakened people’s faith and religiosity. Rebuilding and strengthening faith will take many years of work, but change must always start from within, he noted.
Besides supporting EU’s EDIRPA and ASAP initiatives, Hungary has also been participating in joint capacity building and procurement programmes with France and Germany.
According to Hungarian Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, Hungary and Georgia’s cultural similarities make the bilateral dialogue easier. Both nations speak a unique language, have a ‘closed culture’, and are committed to the values of Christianity, he stressed.
As the European Commission’s politicization takes place without real democratic political legitimacy, serious dilemmas arise: what exactly are the interests of the President of the European Commission, and whom does she represent when she gives her annual State of the Union Address?
Szijjártó urged the start of genuine European Union accession negotiations for Albania and North Macedonia. He emphasized that Europe is facing extraordinary economic and security challenges, making the stability and peace of the Western Balkans more crucial than ever.
The European Parliament’s new campaign proposal would not only end the foreign affairs veto by amending the EU treaties but would also give the EU more power in the area of the rule of law and migration. As part of that overreach attempt, it would also suspend Hungary’s right to hold the EU presidency.