Hungarian government slams EU for stalled enlargement
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It is “shameful” that European enlargement has stalled in the recent period, Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s foreign minister, said on Wednesday in Podgorica. European security and economic competitiveness would improve with the integration of the Western Balkans, he added.
At a joint press conference with Montenegrin counterpart Ranko Krivokapic, Szijjártó said the EU faced serious economic and security challenges, noting the war in Ukraine and sanctions which have pushed up inflation, interest rates, and energy and commodity prices.
In the current situation,
the EU should be doing everything it can to reduce security risks and to maintain European economic competitiveness,
he said.
NATO, he said, already understood the security considerations and has approved the accession of three countries in the region. Now it was time for the EU to take the region with fast-growing economies seriously, he added.
Citing the case of Montenegro, Szijjártó noted that all thirty negotiating chapters had been opened, but not a single one had be concluded in the past five years. As a NATO member that uses the euro, and with a population of roughly 0.12 percent of the bloc’s population, admitting Montenegro “would be easy and risk-free”, he said.
The EU will be careful before accepting new members again….doesn’t want to make the mistake of accepting problematic countries like you know who….
The EU cannot afford another beggar nation. Until Hungary makes a net contribution to the EU budget instead of being a permanent leech, the government would do well to keep its trap shut on this matter. ‘Beggars can’t be choosers’ is the expression.