Warsaw, 2 March 2017
I wish to thank the Prime Minister for her invitation. Hungary fully and wholeheartedly supports the joint document which we adopted today, and which is about the future of the European Union. The time had come for the Visegrád Four to adopt a document like this. Those who observe international politics can see that everything is in flux, because in our era a new world order is emerging. At times like this everyone must establish their own place in the new order. The Asians have already done this, and the English-speaking countries are now in the process of doing so. And we continental Europeans must also establish our place in this new world order. The document which we have now adopted seeks to contribute to this effort: to the establishment of our place. And let me repeat: it enjoys Hungary’s support one hundred per cent. This was the big issue that we dealt with today. Another issue we discussed – one with a lower profile, but nonetheless important – was the question of double standards in the sale of food products. Hungary’s position is clear. In our view, there are double standards in the market of the European Union. We raised this issue earlier, but the Commission failed to deal with the problem. In consequence, Central Europeans are treated as second-class citizens in terms of the quality of food products. Our citizens must have full and comprehensive information about the quality of food they can buy in our stores. The legal guarantees necessary to achieve this must be created by the Commission, and the V4 will seek to play a proactive role in the process. We shall join forces and contribute to the development of new regulations which will prevent the application of double standards and the downgrading of our citizens. In some respects our countries and markets are being used as Europe’s food dump. I am glad that the V4 has managed to bring about cooperation on this matter.
Thank you for your attention.