At a forum of the V4+ Visegrád International Youth Conference in Cluj, Minister of State for EU Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office Szabolcs Takács emphasised that Europe’s values – for which our ancestor fought throughout centuries – must be protected.
At the podium discussion entitled “Security policy challenges of the Visegrád countries with particular regard to the migration crisis”, Mr. Takács pointed out that the Visegrád cooperation has recently been intensified, as a number of challenges occurred that had not been expected, including terrorism.
Cooperation is the only option: the aim is to protect Europe’s values our ancestor fought for throughout centuries as it is these values that have become violated. Human rights are not to be placed above human life, the Minister of State said.
During the talks, it was emphasised that the European Union would need solidarity in this crisis situation; still, what we see is divergence.
University lecturer at Sapienta Hungarian University of Transylvania Dezső Szenkovics was of the opinion that there is not just a physical but also a psychological war going on against the European Union. “If we lose and become scared, we give up on our rights fundamental to the European Union just to be able to protect ourselves”, he warned.
Vice President of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) Lóránt Vincze said: “there is a contradiction between the Western European approach to migration, related statements and reality”. He welcomed that the Visegrád countries found a common voice on the issue; however, a division can be witnessed again between East and West. Even the idea of a “mini Schengen” has been raised recently, which can be considered a European identity crisis.
The meeting of the EPP related youth organizations of the Visegrád countries, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia and Ukraine organised by Fidelitas and the Hungarian Youth Conference from Romania (MIÉRT) began on Thursday in Cluj. The four day meeting mainly focused on the reinforcement of Central Eastern European identity and cooperation.