House speaker: Europe risks falling victim to ‘physical violence’

Budapest (MTI) – If Europe surrenders itself to “intellectual violence” it will eventually also fall victim to “physical violence”, Hungary’s parliamentary speaker said on Friday.

Addressing a Hungarian-Bavarian conference in Budapest focusing on the European Union’s challenges, László Kövér said the unchecked flow of illegal migrants into Europe was the sign of the impending physical aggression Europe could fall victim to.

Kövér said the only positive effect the migration crisis could have on Europe is that “in the eleventh hour”, the continent’s nation states could strengthen their own national identities along with cooperation between each other.

He said anyone who wants to ask or force Hungarians to abandon their roots, and renounce their identity, traditions and faith “in the name of being European”, either does not know them or despises everything they hold dear.

Kövér said the biggest challenge Europe faces is population decline, which he said would lead to European values disappearing. If current demographic trends continue, after 2050, the majority of the economically active population will be made up of people whose roots lie outside of Europe, he said.

He said the EU will also have a hard time maintaining its political stability founded on representative democracy if it cannot keep its middle class strong.