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Hungarian government does not align its foreign policy with third parties
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Hungary has its own clear standpoint on the Middle East and the government does not adjust its foreign policy to that of other actors on the international stage, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Wednesday in connection with the status of Jerusalem.
At a hearing of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Szijjártó responded to the body’s (Jobbik) deputy chairman, Márton Gyöngyösi, who accused the government of ducking the issue of US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital by talking only about economic ties between the EU and Israel.
“It is not ducking the issue if we do not align our foreign policy with third parties,” the minister replied to the lawmaker.
“Hungary has a clear position on the Middle East, although we are not going to dictate what goes on there, even if we have wishes for peace and everyone living amid safety,” he said, adding that “just because a third party makes an announcement does not mean I must rush to respond; this I don’t accept. There was no ducking since there was no change on our part.”
He said economic cooperation between Israel and the EU was important because the EU needs the innovation and technology Israel can provide in order for the bloc to remain competitive.
Fidesz’s Zsolt Németh, the head of the committee, said the US’ decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital could help kick-start the Middle East peace process. The international community is still committed to a two-state solution and this is also in line with Hungary’s position on the issue, he said. Németh said US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Jerusalem did not rule out that the city could also be the capital of Palestine.
In his report to the committee, Szijjártó described 2017 as a “record year” for Hungarian diplomacy,
Hungary, please don’t join the Euro! Derk Jan Eppink, a former MEP member has absolutely no confidence in the Great European Dream to set up a Transfer Union. He already knows what Southern Europe will require next Friday at the Euro Summit: more money. And not just once, but systematically. So they want a transfer union: the North then actually maintains the South. But, says Eppink in an interview in the Dutch newspaper ‘De Telegraaf’, that is a huge mistake: A transfer union will fail miserably. The euro will then pull the EU in its fall. A transfer union means that one has to give what the other wants. The person who wants to have always wants more. And the person who has to pay is sick of it, he explains. There is no common cultural denominator that keeps it portable. You will notice that at the ballot box – and you already see that already.
Unfortunately, this does not mean that politicians will not try this. According to Eppink, such a transfer union can be prevented if the Netherlands and other northern countries speak with Germany so that Berlin does not listen to Paris that much. But we do have a problem. Rutte was indeed Eurosceptic in 2010, but nowadays he is very different: What you see from people who often come to those EU bodies is that they grow with it. You become part of it. At a given moment you speak better EU-lingo than that you address people in the Netherlands. There is a huge difference between how Rutte has developed over the past five years and how public opinion in the Netherlands has developed in relation to Europe. Eppinks conclusion is that the transfer union is almost certain. The Germans are going to push the numbers down a bit and also the number of funds, but that’s about it. And once a start has been made with it, it will only get worse in the course of time.
The good news, according to Eppink, is that this is ultimately untenable. Let’s hope this is so.