The EU is attempting to build a Europe devoid of its traditional values, a construct that the majority of Hungarians are against, said MEP Tamás Deutsch during a debate in the Hungarian Parliament on the future of Europe.
Detailing the Hungarian position, Deutsch said that Hungarians do not see integration as an end in itself, but as a means for “our national freedom to be fulfilled.”
He accused Eurocrats of moving toward a Europe that denies traditional European values, adding that Hungarians believe Europe is nourished by its Judeo-Christian roots and its building blocks are our traditional communities — the nation, the family, and the historic religious congregations.
“The EU is building a Europe without Europeans, while Hungarians see the future of Europe in family support and in strengthening the desire to have children,” he said.
The MEP said Hungarians are in favor of freedom and pluralism, and in contrast to building a Europe without nations, they believe that the member states are imperative to the future of European integration.
“The EU is building a Europe without democracy; according to Hungarians, our Europeanness is an integral part of our national identity,” he emphasized.
Deutsch claimed the current trajectory of the European Union has made Europe more vulnerable, but “this decade is an age of dangerous challenges where present and future European generations need to be protected because crises have shown the EU’s weaknesses.” He emphasized that a competitive EU should be based on the competitiveness of the member states.
Deutsch also spoke about the importance of EU enlargement in the Western Balkans.
“Hungary supports the European integration of all Balkan states because it contributes to the stability of the neighborhood. However, Serbia’s integration process has an important role to play because Serbia is key to stability in the region,” he said. Deutsch added that one proposal that came out of the debate on the future of the EU was a parliamentary resolution that set out the requirement to guarantee the rights of indigenous national minorities in the EU.
The MEP claimed that with the proposals put together via the active participation of a large number of Hungarian citizens, there could have been a broad parliamentary, even national consensus regarding the EU’s future. But instead, Deutsch claimed, we only get sulking and hysteria on the part of the opposition parties.
