Hungary FM: Enlargement Is Major Priority of Hungarian EU Presidency

Although publicly EU member states are in favor of enlargement, behind closed doors only a minority of members support the admission of the Western Balkan states, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto says.

Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto says that the EU is in extremely bad shape with a declining global economic and political clout, and a deteriorating security situation. (Photo source: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter)

Some recent statements have increased the risk of escalation, the politician warned, most notably those raising the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine.

He stressed that on the battlefield, neither side can clearly defeat the other, so the only way forward is a diplomatic settlement. "The question is when. And the sooner there is a ceasefire and peace talks start, the better, with fewer people dying and less destruction," he said.

On this note, he expressed his hope that Donald Trump wins the US presidential elections later this year, as that would greatly improve the chances of peace-building. The results of the EU elections could also help in promoting peace.

If the sovereignist, right-wing, conservative, Christian forces can significantly increase their strength in the upcoming European elections in early June, this, combined with a Republican victory in the US, could provide realistic hope for peace in Europe. If one of these two does not materialize, I think it will be very difficult to achieve peace,

he said. Finally, the minister also spoke of the energy issue, commenting that this was the area where most of Europe's political leaders had thrown common sense out the window, as the debate was based on ideological and political aspects rather than on physical reality.

"No one has ever come up with a way of heating a building with an ideology or operating an economy with press conferences. We need natural gas, we need oil, we need electricity, and the production of the latter is a physical and mathematical issue, not a political one," he stated.

Cover photo: Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto says that the EU is in extremely bad shape with a declining global economic and political clout, and a deteriorating security situation.  (Photo source: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter)