In the 1990s, feeling responsible for where and how the Iron Curtain fell after the World War II, Western Europe had a sense of moral responsibility not to block the path to accession to the European Community to countries wishing to join, Gerely Gulyas said, speaking at a roundtable at the MCC Fest organised by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC).
"At the same time, Brussels actually had no or only a very rudimentary vision of a common future with the accession countries: acquiring markets while preserving political influence," he said.
"It turned out that the 40 years that one half of Europe spent under Soviet domination and the other half in freedom did entail consequences. Paradoxically, societies that suffered under Soviet rule far more strongly adhere to traditional European values than those that enjoyed freedom and the prosperity that came with it after World War II," he explained. He added that
striving to transfer as much power as possible to Brussels is the response of old EU member states to ideological debates. Since amending the treaty to allow this would require a unanimous decision by EU member states, the old member states, even going beyond the principles of the rule of law, are seeking to expand Brussels's powers without amending the treaty, through a kind of stealthy expansion of powers. The EU institutions – not only the European Parliament but also the European Court of Justice – are providing substantial assistance to old member states to this end, he pointed out.
Speaking about further enlargement, Gergely Gulyas stressed that if the European Union truly considers itself European, then there is room for all European countries, but objective conditions must be set for accession, which apply equally to all.
Solidarity must be shown with Ukraine being under attack, but the fundamental principles for accession cannot be circumvented citing the war. Being attacked does not make a country less corrupt and does not allow for sending a message to the Balkan countries - also wanting to accede and being significantly better prepared than Ukraine - that different conditions apply to them, he pointed out.
He also highlighted that the accession to the EU of countries that are significantly closer to Hungary than the EU's founding states when it comes to ideological issues that are key to their social order is in Hungary's interest.
When the European Union was founded and even at the time of Hungary's EU accession, everyone accepted the dominance of the French and German economies and tried to adapt, said Oszkar Vilagi, deputy chief executive officer of MOL Group. The problem began when member states started talking about values that had not been defined as European values. As no consensus can be reached in the debate on this, the EU is seeking to put in place mechanisms that bypass decision-making by consensus.
Member states have come to realise that the new accession countries will not resolve the disputes but will further intensify them, and are weighing which new entrants will strengthen which camp.
Asked about the issues that will unite the region's countries in the future and will facilitate cooperation, Gergely Gulyas noted that the best responses in the crisis management of recent years have mostly been national responses.
At the same time, the minister heading the PM's Office said that Central Europe is characterised by a kind of negative identity, that we do not want societies in Central Europe like the ones in Western Europe have become. This, he said, is an important opportunity for economic players and could open new doors.
He added that he is confident that the future of Central Europe is a common future, and it is important that this also has its driving force in the economy.
He highlighted that, in contrast to Germany's economic dominance in the 1990s, economic power centres have also been established in Central Europe by now. Consequently, Central European states can compete with each other not only in terms of investments coming from Western Europe or elsewhere in the world.
Even when the war in Ukraine is over, the countries in the region will be forced to cooperate, for example in developing new routes for energy imports, Oszkár Vilagi commented.
Retaining human intellectual resources and preventing the departure of highly qualified individuals are key to the future of Hungary and the region, said Andras Lanczi, Szechenyi Prize-awardee philosopher.
Today, young people from the Czech Republic or Poland do not opt for a university in Hungary, just as no Hungarian goes to study in neighbouring countries. The brain drain from the region has been going on for decades, and the change in the university model and the MCC both aim to improve this situation, Andras Lanczi said.
Water was identified as the most important area for cooperation by Gergely Boszormenyi-Nagy, chair of the Foundation for Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME). He stressed that Hungary, Austria, Slovakia and Romania are interdependent in this field, which will be facing many challenges in the near future. The countries have to decide whether they will turn inwards, taking into account only their own interests, or cooperate with each other at least at regional level.
