Hungary does not want to become like W Europe, justice minister tells – Die Welt
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Justice Minister László Trócsányi, in an interview to German conservative daily Die Welt published on Thursday, said Hungary did not want to become like western Europe.
Commenting on the Article 7 procedure initiated at the European Parliament in the wake of a report by Dutch green MEP Judith Sargentini, he said it only served to divide and weaken Europe.
In response to the charge that it was the Hungarian government that weakened European values, he said:
“Our world view is different: we emphasise social cohesion, historic roots, our culture and national identity.”
Certain words and notions in the West have a different meaning in Hungary, he said. Equality in the West means that everybody has the right to get married, whereas in Hungary marriage must be between a man and a woman. And whereas freedom in the West means “the unlimited freedom of individuals”, in Hungary “we believe that freedom also carries responsibilities with it.”
Commenting on the Sargentini report’s remarks concerning the judiciary, he said the document contained “shallow, generalising judgements” and its assessment of the constitutional court was “ridiculous”.