The EU may only be strong when its member states are strong, Peter Szijjarto, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, said in ‘Fakty z Zagranicy’ on TVN24 BiS. In his view, EU institutions are applying ‘double standards’ with respect to certain countries, including Poland, and are wrong in their assessment of actions taken by the Budapest government.
Jacek Stawiski: Last year Viktor Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary, and Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of the right-wing party which is in power in Poland, called for a revolution in the European Union. Hungary, which is ruled by your party – Fidesz, and by Viktor Orban is extremely critical of the EU. So, what in fact is such a revolution supposed to involve?
Peter Szijjarto: In my opinion, it is obvious and totally natural that debates on the future of Europe are held within the EU, because the European Union is confronted with great challenges and difficulties. And, since there are, or rather there have been, 28 countries, it is also obvious that we can have different approaches. We definitely do not belong to the so-called main stream. We have certain ideas about the future of Europe, which can be conflicting with the approach favoured by some institutions in Brussels. The sovereignty of states rather than a federalistic approach is more important to us. We assume that the EU will be as strong as its individual countries. Strong integration may only be based on strong and sovereign states. We believe that the weakening of countries and using that as a basis for deeper integration is a blind alley. The member states should not be deprived of their rights. These rights should remain with them rather than be transferred to Brussels.
You have just said that you are not part of the “main stream’. Who is this ‘main stream’ composed of?
That is a very good question…
Why is it Hungary’s ambition not to be in that ‘main stream’?
Well, it can be described like this… Usually we are at the very heart of criticism coming from Brussels, and we are also criticised by member states and international media. It is understandable that, with regard to certain issues, our position is not fully popular within the EU. For example, this is the case with respect to the migration crisis. If we look at the migration crisis, then – from our perspective – it represents a challenge for security. In our view, the migration crisis is something that has led to a huge risk to the EU security. For us, the migration crisis is the reason why the European Union has been confronted with a terrorist threat which was never seen before. But others are refusing to see it that way. We must admit it.
I think that countries in Central Europe have right answers to those issues. We were the first to put a stop to illegal migration – on the southern border of Hungary. This would not have been possible without help from Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia. We feel that the European Union is approaching that problem in a way that is filled with hypocrisy and political correctness. Such approach is putting Europe and its people at risk.
Two years ago, the European Council obligated member states to accept specific quotas of refugees. You are contesting that decision and disagreeing with it. The European Tribunal of Justice has declared that Hungary must accept refugees based on the quota system. But you keep saying no. You are not complying with your obligations.
The European Tribunal did not say anything like that. It seems to me that we should pay much more attention when reading the Tribunal’s verdicts if we refer to them. I approached that verdict in an extremely serious manner. This is why I read through it carefully. It states that the procedure of taking the decision on the quota obligations was not contradictory to the EU regulations. That’s it.
So, it is valid.
On the other hand, the debate concerns the decision taken by ministers of internal affairs. This is about simple facts. The European Council, the heads of states and of governments, i.e. the most important decision-making body within the EU, has resolved that the quotas must be voluntary…
And you said no to their implementation…
Voluntary, let me stress that again. And the ministers decided that the quotas were supposed to be obligatory, which is inconsistent with the decision of the European Council. Let me emphasise one more time that all member states must have their own right to take a decision on who is to be allowed to the territory of their country and who is not. That is the right of Poland, of Hungary and of any country.
Should the European Council ever vote for the suspension of Poland’s rights within the Council, will Hungary vote against? Will you always support the Polish government in a dispute about observing the rule of law?
We will always support Poland. I can see no other way of answering that question. I think that we are seeing bad habits in European institutions, which are widely applying double standards. I believe that the current treatment of Poland is an example of double standards. You can be assured that the Hungarian government will oppose any sanctions, penalties or retaliation against Poland. You can count on our support.
Źródło: tvn24.pl
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: Fakty z zagranicy TVN24 BiS