Where do families and nations have a place in today's Europe? - asks Italian Christian Democrat politician Rocco Buttiglione, professor of the Edith Stein Institute of Philosophy, Silvio Berlusconi's former Minister of European Affairs, who was interviewed by Magyar Nemzet, urging the reform of the EU.
Rocco Buttiglione said:
"- Europe is losing its importance in the world as a whole. We just think of ourselves as the vanguard of humanity, but that's not the case. We are falling behind demographically and economically. The Catholic Church is expanding worldwide, although its importance is declining in Europe. So the real question is, will Europe survive? Every civilization has its own life cycle, and I have the feeling that Europe is now nearing the end of such a cycle. But it is also conceivable that an upward phase will follow later. In any case, our future depends on our children, and the birth rate is low in Europe. In Italy, for example, the average fertility rate is 1.3, which of course does not mean that all women have children. My wife gave birth to four more children, and some have more. But if this continues, the people of the ages after us will speak of the Italians or the Germans as we speak of the Assyrians or the Babylonians."
"The situation with immigration, for example, is that you can't say no to it completely, but you can't say yes either. The state must control its territory and define the rules. We must make a clear distinction between actual refugees and economic migrants; the latter can only come to the extent that our capacity allows! And, of course, we must not give up the possibility of sending them home either."
"I had disagreements with Meloni on this as well, I, unlike him, said: not less, but more Europe is needed! Of course, we agree that it's not for something like the current one. The European treaties are not good, the Lisbon one is downright bad, and Europe, which is governed in the name of a pseudo-European ideology, as if only individuals endowed with rights live in it, does not work. Neither ideologically nor in practice, where is there room for families and nations? Egoism and narcissism are rampant. This is not the European tradition.”
"...the stability pact (which can be used to sanction the high state debt — ed.) has been suspended, and it is clear to everyone that the rules of the Lisbon Treaty do not work. If the European Central Bank had not made itself independent, we would have collapsed long ago. The inevitable reform of Europe will require partners, including Italy. In certain respects — a joint minister of foreign affairs, defense or finance — powers must be merged, but in many areas the powers must be returned to the member states. Figuratively speaking, don't tell the Italians from Brussels how to make spaghetti or the Hungarians what makes goulash soup good!"
The full interview HERE .
Photo: István Mirkó / Hungarian Nation
