On Sunday, on the news portal of the German conservative newspaper Die Welt, Justice Minister Judit Varga published a guest opinion piece under the title ‘Demonising Hungary is misguided’.
The Minister highlighted that we have not yet succeeded in conquering the coronavirus, Member States of the European Union are in different phases of the process, and there is no way of knowing with any degree of certainty whether the number of patients has reached the peak at a European level. Further measures must be implemented with a view to protecting the lives and health of citizens, and the tools and funds necessary for the recovery of the European Union currently in a state of shock must be made available without delay.
It is also necessary to reach an agreement regarding the EU’s multiannual financial framework which “would be an enormous task even amidst normal circumstances, while in the present situation it is next to impossible,” she said. The migration crisis is not over yet either, and after the pandemic, mass migration could foreseeably resume at an even higher rate than observed before. At the same time, the process of the termination of the United Kingdom’s EU membership is likewise still in progress because the parties have yet to conclude an agreement regarding the framework of future relations which is equally advantageous for both parties.
All these tasks must be resolved in a global economic environment in which preserving and strengthening competitiveness is essential, and so “seeking a consensus and cooperating are more important today than at any time before,” Ms. Varga wrote.
However, in his latest opinion piece published in Die Welt, Minister of State for Europe at the German Federal Foreign Office Michael Roth “depicted an enemy” and “that enemy is Hungary”.
The reason for this is that Hungary “allegedly” does not observe the fundamental principles of European integration, in particular the values of democracy and rule of law, Ms. Varga argued, observing that she feels strongly tempted to explain in detail “how wrong” the German politician’s claim is. However, she has already done that several times and in many places, and Michael Roth “refuses to hear and see” her arguments.
The question arises: what is the reason for this and what consequences will it lead to? It is not very hard to assess the consequences: “our jointly professed values which we all regard as evident will become political tools” and therefore instead of forging unity, they are causing division, the Justice Minister wrote.
All those who earlier went down the same path as the German Federal Foreign Office’s Minister of State stressed at least that tools such as treating the rule of law as a pre-condition do not serve to penalise Hungary. “However, Michael Roth does not even bother to do that.”
She pointed out that the decisions the EU is facing, including the adoption of the next multiannual financial framework, require unanimity, the consensus of all Member States. She asked: How does Michael Roth intend to reach an agreement if he openly declares that he is seeking to create a tool whose purpose is to penalise a Member State.
Finding the reasons is more complex, Ms. Varga wrote, asking: Why does Michael Roth display such spectacular disregard for the unwritten law of neutrality expected from the upcoming EU presidencies in the last phase of the preparations for the German presidency beginning in July? Perhaps in order to create “new fault lines and new divisions” before the talks about the budget, or perhaps “to put pressure on Hungary which – based on the current proposals – would sustain the greatest loss of funds in terms of percentages”.
“Taking money away from developing countries, and giving it to richer states” is a rather dubious enterprise, and this is why “there is a need for demonising those concerned,” the Justice Minister highlighted.
She added that another possibility might well be that Michael Roth favours “show action” over “genuine crisis management,” and “lecturing and putting Hungary right serves this purpose perfectly”. However, “this political strategy does not serve Europe’s best interests”.
She stressed that in critical situations Germany had frequently managed to forge agreements about difficult issues as a neutral intermediary, and in these aspirations it can continue to rely on Hungary as “a stable partner, an ally that shares the same interests and values”.