LMP co-leader discusses EU social pillar with Green EP leader

Bernadett Szél, co-leader of green opposition LMP, discussed the European Union’s pillar of social rights and Hungary’s relationship with the bloc with Philippe Lamberts, leader of the European Parliament’s Greens-EFA group. 

The pillar of social rights “is about delivering new and more effective rights for citizens”, the European Commission says. It covers equal opportunities and access to the labour market, fair working conditions, as well as social protection and inclusion.

LMP fully supports the pillar initiative, Szél told a press conference she held jointly with Lamberts. Szel also insisted that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán “deliberately distorts” the idea behind the initiative.

Social matters should be handled at an EU level, Szél said. Decent jobs, fair pay and social protection are European values that all citizens consider important, she added.

“The Europe of capital must be replaced by the Europe of people,” Szél said, “just as Hungary needs a prime minister who puts the interests of the people, rather than capital, first”.

“Viktor Orbán, however, is a man of capital,” she said.

Among the changes Szél said the EU must implement, she mentioned raising the minimum wage to 60 percent of the average wage. The bloc should also combat speculative capital flows, offshore firms and “harmful” tax competition, she said.