“The countries of the Visegrád Group (V4) speak in their own voice, amongst others on the topic of migration, and this voice doesn’t divide Europe, but strengthens it”, the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister’s new Minister of State for International Communications, Zoltán Kovács said on Monday in Warsaw.
Mr. Kovács visited the Polish capital after being appointed Minister of State for International Communications on Sunday.
At a press breakfast organised at the Hungarian Embassy in Warsaw, Mr. Kovács underlined: “The countries of Central Europe have gone through a unique historical development not only in recent years and decades, and not only during communism, but also in the years preceding it, during the course of which their ‘own voice’ was formed”.
“This voice must not only be made heard in Western Europe or even worldwide because of the migration crisis that has become apparent during the past three years, but also in view of historical idiosyncrasies”, the Minister of State stressed.
He said that in his opinion the differences that exist between the V4 and Western Europe because of this unique development do not divide Europe, but rather strengthen it. “Because our perspective has a raison d’être like that of no one else, including Southern Europe and Northern Europe. We have capabilities that we must represent, and from which we must set out”, he underlined.
In reply to a question from Hungarian news agency MTI on what topics the V4 may be searching for a common voice during the campaign preceding next May’s European Parliament (EP) elections, Mr. Kovács said: “Voters in all member states will almost certainly be concentrating on the issue of migration”.
The Minister of State said it would be worthwhile for the V4 to consider how it could also make the region’s own voice better heard within the EP. “We must talk about the joint Central European perspective on more levels and in even more forms”, he said.
Mr. Kovács highlighted the region’s economic strength, pointing out that trade flow between the V4 and Germany is one-and-a-half times that between France and Germany, while the Group’s total population is on a par with that of France.