Hungary and Cyprus will never accept the division of the European Union into first-class and second-class member states, the two countries are therefore firmly opposed to the abolition of the requirement of unanimous decision-making, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on Tuesday in Nicosia.
At a joint press conference with his Cypriot counterpart, Konstantinos Kombos, the head of the ministry emphasized that, due to the serious challenges and crises of recent years, the European Union is now in a worse shape in terms of the economic and security situation than it was after the coronavirus epidemic.
He called the declining competitiveness of the community, the war going on in the neighborhood, the risks of escalation, as well as the difficulties posed by illegal migration, which both Cyprus and Hungary face at the external borders, as huge problems.
He expressed his hope that this year's European Parliament election could bring about a change in these matters, that the bloc could turn in the right direction and that the pro-peace camp could strengthen.
In this regard, he stated that
the Hungarian government is in favor of making peace in Ukraine as soon as possible,
acknowledging that this position is not part of the mainstream today, and is not in the majority on the continent. He pointed out that our country does not supply weapons to the conflict, and strongly opposes statements about the possibility of sending Western soldiers to Ukraine.
He complained that the representatives of the pro-peace position are immediately stigmatized, as well as that
nowadays there is extremely narrow space for a sane dialogue on this issue.
He went on to explain that the situation is similar with regard to the sanctions against Russia, where there was also no opportunity for a meaningful discussion about some kind of compensation mechanism for the benefit of those member states in whose case the negative effects of these restrictions are more serious than others.
Péter Szijjártó then warned that Hungary and Cyprus, which both joined twenty years ago, will never accept the division of the European Union into first- and second-class member states.
„We firmly oppose the abolition of the requirement of unanimous decision-making and the widening of the scope of qualified majority decisions. We will never accept a situation where big countries decide on matters that affect us, and we only have the right to say yes sir
he said.
He underlined that the main objective of this year's successive Hungarian EU presidency is to stop the further weakening of the community, and a strong Europe requires strong member states.
He believed that
the bloc needs fresh impetus and energy, which can only come from outside, and the government will therefore treat the promotion of the Western Balkans enlargement process as a priority.
In this regard, he emphasized that it is not possible to provide a fast lane for some countries for political reasons, each actor must be judged on their own real merits, and based on this, the Western Balkan states deserve a fair and positive attitude.
He informed that, despite all declarations, the majority in the EU is actually against the enlargement, while Hungary and Cyprus also support the matter, so the two countries will act in this field with a united force.
The minister also touched on illegal immigration, confirming that our country will place great emphasis on action against it. He told me that
the government sees migration not as an opportunity, but as a threat that must be stopped, not managed.
Finally, he welcomed the fact that, like Hungary, Cyprus always stands up for its national interests in the EU, which is also the reason for the lively political coordination between the parties.
He said that tourism between the two countries is expanding rapidly, last year the number of Hungarian tourists in the island country was already more than 66 thousand, which means an increase of 31 percent, and almost four thousand Hungarians live here.
The value of the commercial turnover was kept above 100 million euros. In addition, energy can be a new area of cooperation, since our country is interested in diversification, and the new deposits in Cyprus offer a chance for this, he listed.
In addition, Hungarian soldiers participate in the UN peacekeeping mission in Cyprus (UNFICYP), thereby contributing to security and stability, he informed.
MTI
Photo: Péter Szijjártó's Facebook page
