The reinforcement of cultural awareness – which is increasingly diminishing – is a must for the integration of migrants in Europe, Zoltán Balog told the Hungarian News Agency MTI on Friday after he delivered a lecture on the topic as the first foreign lecturer at the reputable forum held in Bayreuth, Bavaria.

The Minister of Human Resources delivered a lecture at the event entitled Bayreuth Cultural Encounters at the request of Member of the Bundestag for the region Hartmut Koschyk.

The topic of this year’s forum was identity and diversity in Europe’s cultural self-image and awareness. By Mr Balog’s account, he stressed in his lecture that a strong national awareness and European identity do not contradict one another but, in actual fact, one reinforces the other.

The Minister also spoke about the issue of migration, and highlighted that Europe has an increasingly diminishing cultural awareness. Therefore we expose ourselves to a great danger if we embrace alien cultures, religions and lifestyles purely in the name of tolerance.

If we want to be able to integrate migrants, we must reinforce our own cultural, religious and historical identity in education, science and culture, Mr Balog said. He added: “a weak identity is unable to integrate other identities”.

Mr Balog further covered the grave demographic problems which our continent is facing. He takes the view that immigration is not a solution to these problems. We should instead make increased efforts to integrate Europe’s Roma population. There is significant work force and cultural potential which exists within Europe but has not been integrated yet, he said.

Some 150-200 guests, primarily politicians and German economic actors, attended the reputable forum held in Bayreuth, Bavaria, which is best known as the town of Richard Wagner.

Hartmut Koschyk, Federal Government Commissioner for Matters Related to Ethnic German Resettlers and National Minorities has organised the series of events entitled Bayreuth Cultural Encounters for 12 years. He had previously invited German politicians and prominent cultural figures to lecture at the forum, including Norbert Lammert, President of the Bundestag, Monika Grütters, Minister of State for Culture, and Katharina Wagner, Director of the Bayreuth opera festival staging the works of her great-grandfather, Richard Wagner.

(MTI)