Hungarian EU commissioner: EU is stronger with Central Europe

The European Union has become stronger with the accession of central Europe, a region that has become “a decisive actor” in the bloc not only economically, but politically as well, Olivér Várhelyi, EU commissioner for neighbourhood policy and enlargement, said on Tuesday, marking the 20th anniversary of the region’s accession.

He told MTI in Brussels that central Europe, a region that had lagged considerably behind, has also benefitted from EU membership and become stronger economically and socially.

In the beginning, it was hard to see what role central Europe would politically fulfil in the EU, but since Brexit “the region has a role not only to create balance but to set the trend,” Várhelyi said.

He said that the incoming European Commission must focus on the bloc’s enlargement.

Read also:

• Foreign diplomats in Hungary briefed about EP elections
• Numbers out: Passengers flock to Budapest Airport