Hungary FM Hits Out At Brussels

Brussels bureaucrats have been watching the current situation unfold for months without taking action, Peter Szijjarto pointed out. Inaction causes severe damage, Hungary’s foreign affairs and trade minister emphasized, sharply criticizing the European Commission on his social media page.

Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto (Photo: AFP)

The European economy could once again face trouble due to the incompetence of Brussels leaders, Peter Szijjarto warned on Saturday. The European Union has done nothing for months to negotiate and prevent the introduction of tariff measures by the US, Hungary's minister of foreign affairs and trade stated.

Once again, we are paying the price because of Brussels (Source: Facebook/Peter Szijjarto)

Inaction comes at a high price, says the minister

Since last November, it has been clear that Donald Trump would be the new president of the United States and that he would pursue a patriotic economic policy, which could include tariff increases, the minister said.

Everyone was aware of this, including those in Brussels. Yet, in the past few months, Brussels has done nothing about this issue. [...]Not a single serious negotiation proposal was made to the United States,

Peter Szijjarto said. According to the minister, now that US tariff measures have taken effect, everyone is just "lamenting and screaming," but the real question is, "Where was Brussels?" He took the view that the well-paid bureaucrats at the Commission failed to make a strategic decision in time, even though they had the opportunity to do so. 

He also pointed out that the automotive industry is the backbone of both the European and American economies, yet the bilateral tariff policy is disproportionate: while the United States has so far imposed a 2.5 percent tariff on European car imports, the EU has applied a 10 percent tariff.

Why hasn't the European Union reduced the tariffs on cars to 2.5 percent? We have made this proposal several times,

he remarked, adding that 

The people sitting in Brussels and taking massive thousands of euros a month in salaries are incapable of weighing such a situation and making good strategic decisions.

The current crisis once again demonstrates the European Commission's inability to represent its interests effectively, Peter Szijjarto said. 

You need to negotiate with the Americans, just as we Hungarians are negotiating with the US government on numerous economic cooperation issues,

he highlighted.

Cover photo: Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto (Photo: AFP)