Central Europe sees interest in strong US

Attitudes in central Europe to the US are divided but everyone recognises that a strong US is in their interest, the (Fidesz) head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Zsolt Németh, told a conference organised by the Nézőpont think tank on Thursday.

The US president often visits Europe, he said, and this is welcome from Hungary’s point of view, Németh said. Overall, things are moving in a good direction, and Trump’s visit to Warsaw provided added momentum, he added.

Referring to Wess Mitchell, assistant secretary of state responsible for diplomatic relations with Europe, Eurasia, NATO, the EU and the OSCE, he said Mitchell was a determining figure and he regarded central Europe as important and a friend.

It is generally agreed in central Europe that Russia is an aggressor, he said, adding that Hungary was not under any “direct threat”, however. “Still, it can’t be denied that NATO’s protective guarantee against Russia comes in handy,” he said.

Presenting a survey conducted in Hungary and ten other CEE countries by the Nézőpont research institute, Csaba Fodor, the think tank’s managing director, said that