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”.
In response to a question about controversial legal amendments affecting the Central European Univerity (CEU), he said an assessment of whether Bard College in New York State was indeed involved in educational activities within the framework of the CEO was ongoing, and this would take some time.
CEU prepares to move to Vienna?
After the declaration back in May that the Central European University (CEU) intends to stay in Budapest, it seems like times have changed since then. This past Friday, Michael Ignatieff, the rector of the Central European University, has informed both students and teachers of the institution that, although they would still like to remain in Budapest, if they cannot get to an agreement with the government, they will have no choice but to move to Austria, read more HERE.
To read the full interview in German HERE.
Source: Die Welt/MTI
