Hungary has said that it would be 'foolish' to transfer more power to the European Union when all of the solutions are being provided by its member states.
Péter Szijjártó, minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, issued a statement in reaction to an interview published in German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung in which President of the European Parliament Martin Shulz said member states have been transferring increasing spheres of authority to Brussels for years.
“It would be foolish to transfer even more spheres of competence to Brussels, especially when it is apparent that is it the member states who are providing effective solutions to historic challenges," Minister Szijjártó said. The EU has been helpless against illegal immigration for years; “Brussels has failed in self-defense," he added.
Martin Shulz' full comments appeared to sum up an incorrect vision of what power the EU holds over its member states.
“The generation of Kohl and Mitterrand travelled to Brussels with the attitude that a strong Europe is in the interest of our country. The Orbán generation says ‘we have to defend the interests of our country against Europe’ – as if they were being attacked by Brussels”. According to Shulz, member states have been transferring increasing spheres of authority to Brussels for years, but most governments have not explained this to their citizens. “The same people who nod along in Brussels pretend at home that some anonymous force put pressure on them. That is deadly," he said.
Minister Szijjártó stressed that "Martin Schulz is wrong, because a strong European Union can only be made up of strong member states”.
According to Szijjártó "waiting for someone to defend you who doesn’t even recognize the danger; now that’s deadly”.