“Europe must defend itself”, was the title of the interview Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga gave to German business daily Handelsblatt, published today.

In the interview, the Minister stressed that Europe has been in crisis, and it was time to honestly discuss topics such as mass migration. It is the common stance of the Visegrad Four that Europe’s “ethnic, religious and cultural balance must not be overthrown.”

Responding to a question on the Bratislava meeting of the EU27 next Friday, Mihály Varga said it was crucial for European leaders to tackle issues that Europeans are truly concerned about, such as mass migration and its consequences: rising terror threat, deteriorating public safety and cultural tensions.

“Migration must be stopped, because it is threatening Europe’s future”, he said, adding that “Europe must protect itself from economic and illegal migrants, and it must build border protection”.

EU leaders must make decisions in Bratislava and find answers to the question whether “we want to live in a weak Europe which is unable to defend itself or in a strong Europe, which can protect the culture, safety and wellbeing of its citizens.”

Commenting on the so-called quota referendum, the Minister pointed out that referenda are of vital importance in democracies, as they are a guarantee for people against the enforcement of unwanted decisions.

“Those people have a reason to worry about their image and integrity who make weighty decisions without prior consultation of the people affected,” he said, as a response to the question if the referendum could damage the country’s image. Hungary, however, “is a democratic country, where the freedom of speech prevails and this is our image.”

Following a question on Hungary’s perceived lack of solidarity with Germany despite the fact that Hungary has been profiting from the free movement of goods, services and persons in Europe, the Minister stated that it was the free movement of products and people that mass migration was jeopardizing, and EU member states were forced to spend money on securing their borders and building fences.

“Hungary is a member of the EU, and it wants to remain a member of the EU. For us, Brussels’ flawed migration policy is the problem, and not the EU itself,” he emphasised.

Concerning Hungarian-German economic relations he said that recent years have been highly successful from this aspect. More than 6000 companies, partly or wholly owned by German entrepreneurs, have been operating in Hungary, which employ more than 300 thousand people. German companies play a key role in the development of the Hungarian economy, they are leaders in several fields, and the Government is expecting further investment by German enterprises.

Speaking of the re-industrialization plans of the Government, Mihály Varga said that the car manufacturing, services and electronics sectors were currently the largest divisions, but the Government is aiming to diversify the economy, placing larger emphasis on the development of the healthcare sector, the green economy, electro-mobility, info-communication and defence. In these efforts, the Government is expecting even more involvement from Germany.

In response to the question, “Do rising wages threaten Hungary’s competitive edge in the region?” the Minister answered, “Although wages have been rising for one-and-a-half years, the country is also characterized by various tax incentives, skilled labour, favourable business environment and active R&D.”  That is why Daimler is to implement projects of EUR 1.9bn in the near future in Hungary, he added.

The Government is aware of the fact that further progress must be made on the labour market, and that is why – adapted to the needs of the economy -- a new vocational education system has been introduced.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)