Mikulas Bek, the Minister of European Affairs of the Czech Republic, holding the office of President of the European Union, gave an interview to RTL. The head of the ministry spoke about the fact that if an agreement is not reached on the frozen EU funds, the relationship with the Orbán government could deteriorate further. According to Mikulas Bek, there is a problem on the Hungarian side, "there is no ill will on the part of the EU countries or the European Commission". The Czech minister does not want everything to end with EU withdrawal.

The minister believes that the tension between Hungary and the other EU member states has been growing for years. As he put it:

"There is still a way back, there is still a chance for Hungary to dance back from the edge of the abyss,

and the issues related to EU resources and the rule of law mechanism should be resolved". According to Bek Mikulas, there is a good chance that an agreement on EU funds will be reached before the end of the year.

They fear Hungary leaving the EU

The minister explained that he really hopes that we will eventually receive the EU funds. "If the conflict between Hungary and the other member states of the European Union deepens, it could further strengthen the country's distance from the community," said Bek.

The Czech minister does not want everything to end with EU withdrawal. According to him, this would also be against the interests of the EU.

We are on the verge of negative developments, that much is clear.

I would be happy if the tension eased," said the head of the ministry. He added that if an agreement on EU resources is not reached, the situation could escalate to a point of no return.

To the question of who has greater responsibility in the situation, he answered: "Quite clearly the Hungarian government!

There is a problem on the Hungarian side, there is no ill will on the part of the EU countries or the European Commission

- stated Bek.

Cooperation in Visegrád lost its importance

I think it's pretty clear that the V4s are not an indissolubly united group. Our governments have different opinions on a host of issues - but this of course leaves room for a kind of reasonable cooperation. But since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, it is quite clear that our differences are growing, Bek explains.

the Czech government parties are members of the European People's Party, which means that it is logical that the Czech government looks for opportunities for cooperation elsewhere than the Hungarian or even the Polish government. Under such conditions, it is quite clear that we think differently about many issues.

This does not mean that Visegrad cooperation is dead. But at the moment it is not really important at the European level.

We have a meeting once in a while, but not very often. This may change if a new government comes to power in one of the four countries. So we don't want to underestimate the potential of cooperation. But at the moment it is quite clear that there are very significant differences of opinion between our countries. - the Czech politician concluded the interview.

Source: Mandiner , RTL

Photo: European Parliament