Speaker of Hungarian parliament: Member states no longer able to control EU bureaucracy
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Member states can no longer control the EU bureaucracy, which is “spreading like a cancerous tumour”, Speaker of Parliament Laszlo Kövér said in an interview published in weekly Mandiner on Thursday.
On the matter of Sweden’s NATO accession, Kövér confirmed it was supported by both the government and President Katalin Novák. “If it were not so, its ratification would not be on Parliament’s table,” he said. However, ruling Fidesz-KDNP are a living political community, and its members can have different opinions, he added. “Many of us in the parliamentary group think it would be worthwhile to wait with the decision, he said.
Kövér said while Hungary was watching the dispute that Turkiye, which has the second strongest army in NATO, was having with Sweden, the government had not offered to adapt its position to theirs, and the Turks had not even hinted that they had any expectations from us on the matter.
He said the accession of two traditionally neutral countries, Finland and Sweden, is an issue that could have been reason for a more comprehensive, in-depth discussion. This does not actually strengthen, but weakens the security of Europe as it increases the contact surface between Russia and NATO, he added.
Kövér noted that in Hungary a referendum had been held on NATO accession, whereas in the two northern countries people had not been consulted on the matter.
He emphasised that NATO membership was a priority national interest for Hungary after the system change, and for now, he “does not consider it a historical mistake”. He reiterated that Hungary was not waiting for Turkiye’s decision concerning Sweden. “The sovereign parliament of a sovereign country will decide when it sees fit,” he added.
Commenting on the fact that leaders of Eastern states came to Budapest as guests for the celebration of the founding of the state on Aug 20, Kövér said the national holiday coincided with the first full competition day of the World Athletics Championships, and “we also hosted many of our Central European friends”. State leaders were here whose participation in the energy supply of Hungary, Central Europe and Europe will be essential in the future, he said.
Kövér emphasised that Hungary is part of Western Christian culture, “we entered Europe and its political institutional system with the founding of the Christian state”. This is also part of our national culture, and now those who reject this ideological and moral basis of Europe want to force us to make an exclusive choice in the political and economic sense.
He also noted that Hungary, a country which has always been at the crossroads of imperial aspirations, can also be a kind of mediating link culturally. “Why shouldn’t there be value in this, why shouldn’t Hungary be one of the bridges that connect the West in the traditional sense with the diverse East,” he added.
On the issue of the war in Ukraine, Kövér said he saw no real difference between the positions of the government and that of the president. He pointed out that similarly to government statements, President Novák spoke primarily about peace, which in itself distinguishes her and Hungary from politicians from all other allied European and NATO member states.
You mean that if Victor’s veto is taken away, then Hungary cannot control the EU. That is the reality, a small country with a small population and a very small PM seek control over all of Europe.