In connection with a fresh report on proposals for reforming the EU, Fidesz MEP László Trócsányi said on Monday that the European Union is looking to implement centralized decision-making in the bloc. “This is unacceptable to Hungary,” Trócsányi told public current affairs channel M1, discussing the report on the year-long conference on the future of the EU.
As regards a proposal to abolish member states’ right of veto, Trócsányi said the EU had always been based on compromise. If the veto is abolished and decisions will be made based on majority rule, several member states could see the bloc enact decisions that go against their national interests, he said. Trócsányi noted that the EU was made up of 27 member states “and 27 national identities”. The EU has a shared set of values that include principles like the freedom of expression, and the independence of the judiciary “but this, too, is based on national identity”, he added. He noted that the EU had been forced to deal with a number of “shocks” over the past decade, such as Brexit, illegal migration and the coronavirus pandemic. He said that because the bloc had failed to give the right response to the migration crisis and could not give an effective response to the pandemic, it was “no surprise” that people’s confidence in the EU had been shaken. Trócsányi said it was doubtful that the series of conferences on the EU’s future had been a success, arguing that its number of participants was roughly equivalent to the populations of four medium-sized towns.
Photo credit: MTVA/M1