The foreign minister said the critical remarks about Hungary by Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency Vera Jourová have no affect on Hungarian-Czech relations.
“I want to make it clear that we consider Vera Jourová’s remarks as remarks by an EC vice president,” Péter Szijjártó said in an interview published by Czech daily Lidove Noviny on Saturday. “We do not identify Jourová with the Czech Republic or the Czech government,” he added
“Our excellent bilateral relations are not affected by this issue in any way,” the minister stressed. Jourová has made some “very rude” statements that go way beyond what’s acceptable, he added. “Calling Hungarian democracy sick? That goes beyond all limits,” he said.
Minister Szijjártó said Jourová had collected her information from liberal, opposition sources only and “completely disregarded the facts”. He added that it was high time the spirit of cultured dialogue and mutual respect should return to Brussels. Hungary’s foreign policy is based on mutual respect, he said, adding that Brussels was trying to punish Hungary by way of political attacks for the country’s position on illegal migration.