Hungarians are a freedom-loving people, supporters of straight talk and of honouring one’s word, who defend, not dismantle Europe’s values, Justice Minister Judit Varga stressed at a stage discussion entitled ‘Country Image, Nation Image’ held at the 30th Bálványos Summer Open University and Student Camp (Tusványos) in Tusványfürdő on Friday.
“When they come up with this mantra that we are destroying Europe and are dismantling European values, I always warn them that for us European values are so important that not only did we give our blood and lives for them for centuries, but we are also proud that we can lay this down in our national avowal. This says all that needs to be said about our approach to the European project,” the member of the cabinet who is also responsible for European Union relations said recalling her Brussels experiences.
Regarding the topics of national stereotypes, self-esteem and foreign perception, Mrs Varga said during her talks she observed several times that the European mainstream which is afraid of the power of precedent is terrified by Hungary’s sincere and brave attitude.
At the same time, for many in Brussels it is a relief that the Hungarians do not shy away from tough decisions, she said.
With reference to the firm Hungarian position related to migration, she said she knows many European politicians who are well aware of the facts, but do not dare to go against the flow openly; at the same time, they welcome Hungary’s firm stance.
She added that, in her view, it is much better to call a spade a spade than to learn this “very strange and hypocritical European language”.
She admitted that it is a source of many disappointments for Hungarians that they have faith in enduring friendships and presume that their negotiating parties are likewise open and honest. According to Mrs Varga, the differences related to the EU, too, are attributable to the fact that Hungary insists upon the observance of the provisions of the EU Treaties, and upon the assumption that it joined a Europe of Member States which mutually respect one another.
“This is why we are being attacked, because we do not want to accept that Europe is in a state of constant change, and the final goal is to dissolve ourselves in some United States of Europe, a multicultural society that has lost its face,” the Minister said.
According to Minister of State for International Communication and Relations Zoltán Kovács, another participant of the stage discussion, the Hungarian government has found itself in a narrative struggle with the EU.
“In the past 8 to 9 years, the Fidesz-KDNP party alliance’s narrative has been very simple: it would be much simpler if they indeed started paying attention to what we are saying because we say what we do and we do what we say,” the Minister of State pointed out, adding that this must be surprising because in Western Europe this is not customary at all.
Mr Kovács argued that in Western Europe political communities feel ever more relaxed about throwing their own identities away which, in his view, does not mean that they become different, but that they cease to exist.
“We, however, insist on the identity elements and traditions which have made us what we are, we would like to preserve them,” the Minister of State pointed out.
As an example of Western European hypocrisy, the speakers mentioned the procedure instituted against Hungary under Article Seven and the irregularities that surrounded the vote on the Sargentini Report. Mrs Varga said she had taken the case to the EU’s court.
According to Mr Kovács, the Western European elite uses the rule of law procedure instituted against Hungary as a political weapon which violates the very principle of the rule of law and legal security.
“They violate the institutional and legal system in order to enforce their own political agenda,” the Minister of State for International Communication and Relations said in summary.