According to Tibor Navracsics, it is inaccurate that the European Union would be contrary to national interest. The Deputy Prime Minister talked about this topic at a conference held at the National University of Public Service about the past ten years of Hungary’s EU membership in Budapest this Thursday.
During his presentation, Tibor Navracsics said that the EU membership of Hungary is the history of realization of the possibility of enforcing national interest.
To his opinion the slogans heard in the campaign of the elections of the European Parliament to be held on the 25th of May 25 may be grouped at two ends: one is to see the creation of an United States of Europe where national interest would dissolve in a supranational, all-European interest; and the other is to move out from the European Union, because national interest could be represented only outside the EU. As he said, both slogans are the by-product of the same mistake, which is that the European Union is contrary to national interest.
The Deputy Prime Minister has taken the position that community interest is a common set of national interests and community interest is unimaginable without the prevailing of national interests. He added that from the transition period to 2004 EU membership was a goal, however, since the admission it is a device; a tool for national advocacy.
The Deputy Prime Minister also said that over the past four years a lot of debate went on between Hungary and the European Union. As he said, these issues have occurred from the often different interpretations of concepts. According to his words, the high degree of transformation carried out recently in Hungary made the Hungarian case a special one, but did not make it unique; noting that many Member States have disputes with the European Union.
He stressed that in many ways it is understandable that the EU looked on the profound transformation in Hungary with suspicion, but the existing assets of the community; the infringement procedure and ultimately the application of the EU’s Article No. 7 are all sufficient to resolve the issues of cooperation; there is no need for new procedures. As he noted, the planned rule-of-law-mechanism of the EU on the monitoring of national compliance with fundamental rights and values would take a strictly legal approach into political grounds.
(Ministry of Public Administration and Justice)
