"We need a European policy based on the European interest"

Next year's European Parliament elections are an opportunity to change direction, says Hungarian MEP Balazs Hidveghi.

Budapest, 2020. december 16. Hidvéghi Balázs, a Fidesz európai parlamenti (EP-) képviselõje sajtótájékoztatót tart a Képviselõi Irodaházban 2020. december 16-án. MTI/Kovács Attila Fotó: Kovács Attila

The EU has rightly been criticised recently for not formulating its position resolutely enough and for not standing up for its own interests with sufficient determination, Balazs Hidveghi told Magyar Nemzet. We asked the MEP of Fidesz to comment after American economist Fiona Scott Morton had withdrawn from her appointment as the European Commission's chief competition economist. Her withdrawal came after Ms Morton was heavily criticised for the candidacy by many, including French President Emmanuel Macron. The French head of state fiercely opposed her nomination, saying that the move was not "coherent" with Brussels's strategic autonomy goals.

The EU has rightly been criticised recently for not formulating its position resolutely enough and for not standing up for its own interests with sufficient determination,

Balazs Hidveghi told Magyar Nemzet.

He stressed that there is a great need for a political direction that would articulate European interests more boldly and stand up for them more firmly.  "It is certain that the European Union is weak in terms of European strategic autonomy, independence and the formulation and representation of its own interests," he added.

Pushing European interests to the background can also be observed in connection with the European Union's sanctions policy. Balazs Hidveghi noted that a more sophisticated policy based on the European interest is obviously needed, since a significant part of the sanctions does not contribute to bringing the war to an end, does not weaken Russia, does not help Ukraine, but causes serious difficulties for European people and companies, leading to inflation, economic fallout and uncertainty.

Next year's European Parliament elections are clearly an opportunity for European politics to change in a direction that stands up more strongly for European interests, he added.

"I very much hope that conservative, Christian forces standing on a national basis will grow stronger, that they will be able to form a stronger bloc in the European Parliament, and that they will have a greater influence on the choice of officials to be appointed to senior positions and on who is tasked with determining European policy and the future decisions of the European Union," the politician of Fidesz told our newspaper.

Cover photo: Balazs Hidveghi, MEP of  Fidesz (Photo: MTI/Attila Kovacs)