Hungarian FM: Europe needs strategic autonomy, advocacy

Europe needs strategic autonomy, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Paris on Wednesday, arguing that the continent would lose out if it kept following other global political players instead of enforcing its own interests.

Szijjártó held talks with the foreign affairs and defence committee of France’s Senate, discussing primarily the war in Ukraine and its consequences, according to a ministry statement.

The war has significantly weakened Europe both politically and economically, the minister said.

“It has weakened the continent politically because the past one year, three months and two weeks has not been enough for us to move closer to peace; we haven’t been able to stop this war,” he said.

“And secondly, we’ve become weaker economically because owing to the differences between the European and American responses to the war, European businesses find themselves at a huge competitive disadvantage compared with American businesses,” he added.

Szijjártó said that whereas the US Inflation Reduction Act “shamelessly and completely openly supports American companies against European ones”, European sanctions were hurting Europe’s economy more than Russia’s.

This puts European businesses at a huge competitive disadvantage, and all of the negative effects are felt in the vicinity of the war first, he said.