Hungary and Poland are establishing a joint comparative law institute in the interests of taking action against “the suppression of opinions by liberal ideology”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on Monday after receiving his Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau in Budapest.
Mr. Szijjártó said: “The politics of the two Cabinets, which clearly places national interests at the forefront and is based on Christian foundations, is often indigestible for the international liberal mainstream, which as a result is continuously attacking the two countries. “The joint legal institute will accumulate the required legal security, bases and knowledge to combat the suppression of opinions by liberal ideology”, he highlighted.
“Poland isn’t just Hungary’s friend, but its brother-in-arms and closest ally in Europe. The interest enforcement capability of Hungarian foreign policy is to a great extent dependent on the power of the Visegrád Group (V4), and on the strength of the alliance between Hungary and Poland”, Mr. Szijjártó explained. “Accordingly, the intent to continuously reinforce Hungarian-Polish relations and the Visegrád Group is always at the focus of Hungarian foreign policy”, he underlined.
“The V4 is the tightest, most efficient and most effective alliance within the European Union today”, he emphasised. “We are also fighting the extremely tough debates on the future of Europe on this foundation of solidarity and cooperation”, he added. “Hungary and Poland reject the New Pact on Migration put forward by the European Commission (EC), in view of the fact that it is a pro-migration document that inspires immigration, and threatens to generate newer and newer waves of migration, in addition to which, although from a different perspective, it continues to include a mandatory resettlement quota”, Mr. Szijjártó declared. “This remains a red line, and something we regard as totally unacceptably”, he underlined, adding that the Visegrád Group is continuing its successful policy aimed at stopping migration.
The Minister also said that the parties have initiated the setting up of a “Visegrád Coordination Centre” to handle the coronavirus epidemic, which will be headed by Poland. Mr. Szijjártó also mentioned that the high-speed rail connection linking Warsaw and Budapest via Slovakia and the Czech Republic must be established. “The preparative negotiations are already underway, and according to plan the parties will already be signing the document that sets down the fundamentals of the development project before the end of this year”, he indicated.
Referring to the close relations between the two countries, Zbigniew Rau cited as an example the Hungarian assistance provided towards the winning of the Battle of Warsaw, which took place one hundred years ago this year. He highlighted the fact that the V4 cooperation, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, is one of the most effective regional mechanisms within the European Union, and the economies of its member states are growing at a higher rate than those of countries in the Western part of the continent. Amongst others, the Polish Foreign Minister said the V4 agree with relation to Belarus, and is fully aware of the fact that Belarusian society would also like to enjoy its constitutional rights and develop its own future.
“The package readied in Lublin by the Prime Ministers of the Visegrád Group countries, and which will be presented by Polish head of government Mateusz Morawiecki at the upcoming session of the European Council, will facilitate this”, Mr. Rau indicated. According to the Polish Foreign Minister’s position, the EC’s New Pact on Migration would strip both receiving countries and migrants of the opportunity to make a choice. “The plan must be thought out and discussed more deeply, during the course of which we will be protecting our standpoints”, he emphasised.
In reply to a question from the press, Mr. Szijjártó said: “The number of coronavirus infections is increasing throughout Europe, and accordingly the lifting of the restrictions along the countries borders would be at odds with the fact that Hungary must continue to function”. In response to a question on the rule of law report, Mr. Szijjártó said: “Our experience so far is extremely disheartening; the attacks previously made against Hungary and Poland under this title had absolutely nothing to do with either the rule of law or democracy, and were launched purely as an instrument of blackmail”. “One of the goals of the comparative law institute is to prevent them from taking us for fools”, he stated.
In reply to a question from reporters, Zbigniew Rau said that it is absolutely necessary to separate political and legal arguments with relation to the rule of law, noting that the parties wish to build on the latter. He also said that the Belarusian sanctions will be coming into force, and that the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council will be discussing the Navalny affair in October.