While Europe set out from the shores of peace, at present it is venturing into stormy waters, the Justice Minister stated at a webinar about the future of the continent held on Monday.

Judit Varga opened the conference ‘Dialogue on the future of Europe: How to build a more effective and genuinely strong Union?’ held in the Parliament building partly online in English and French. The event was organised by the Ministry of Justice and the Mádl Ferenc Institute of Comparative Law.

The Minister said while it was plain to see that challenges will emerge, no one was able to assess the magnitude of the difficulties which the community has experienced in the past fifteen years.

First the global economic crisis, followed by the migration crisis, and later the departure of Britain from the EU (Brexit) caused problems, while at present, we are compelled to struggle with the coronavirus pandemic, she listed the challenges.

“We continue to carry the wounds of the past. But we can also learn from our experiences. Reflection is often a forgotten element of success,” the Minister said.

While the coronavirus epidemic has rearranged our list of priorities, we must not neglect the plan for creating a stronger Europe.

“We have a duty to our citizens and we have a duty to our children. We cannot afford the luxury of waiting any longer, we must engage in a meaningful dialogue about the future of Europe,” she stressed.

The Hungarian people have always been more open to joint deliberation in the spirit of the motto ‘unity in diversity’. The Hungarian position is that while we identify the mutually beneficial areas of cooperation, we must respect our traditional differences and intellectual independence. Differentness is not a problem, but a value; therefore, we must stay true to the original nature of the European Union. The EU can only be strong if its Member States are strong, and only such a proactive EU will be able to pass the test of time, Ms. Varga stated.

Brexit showed that citizens have firm opinions of their own, and they must be taken into consideration. Yet, the gap between the public and European institutions is ever widening.

The principle of subsidiarity must be respected. The coronavirus epidemic has demonstrated that the crisis can be managed most swiftly and most effectively at the level of the Member States, the Minister pointed out.

European institutions must learn from Member States. The Hungarian government maintains close communication with its citizens, and holds regular national consultations, she said.

The Minister also highlighted that Europe must think in terms of long-term planning, and enlargement is a fundamental means towards achieving stability.

According to Dubravka Suica, Vice-President of the European Commission for Democracy and Demography, this conference provides an opportunity to connect with the people.

She said democracy is going through hard times at present. People blame the system, despite the fact it is the best possible invention. At the same time, we must not take democracy for granted.

Citizens want to become more involved in politics, and they must be given a chance to do so. At the same time, their involvement must go hand in hand with the extension of critical thinking as we are living in a world of fake news and populism, Ms. Suica stressed.

Fidesz Member of the European Parliament József Szájer pointed out at a panel discussion that crises emerge all the time, but this is no reason to delay a debate on the future of Europe if we want the EU to remain effective.

The EU must be built upon mutual respect, and upon the need for understanding and respecting one another. An effective Europe can only function on the foundations of cooperation, he stated.

He observed that the coronavirus epidemic has not paralysed a single parliament in the Member States; they have all found a way to continue to operate within lawful boundaries. The EP, however, was unable to achieve this feat, though no one other than MEPs genuinely perceived any loss due to the cancellation of parliamentary sittings, he added.

In the context of the rule of law, Mr Szájer also mentioned that whenever the EP discusses the affairs of Hungary, it never gives the other party the same amount of time to defend itself.

Antonio Tajani, Chair of the EP’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs, former President of the European Parliament took the view that we need strong European action. The European Parliament should be given greater powers, he stressed.

The main goal of the organisers of the event was to initiate dialogue about the current problems and permanent issues as well as about the uncertainties of the future.

Based on the conclusions drawn from the ongoing crises experienced in the past decade, with regard to the challenges we are facing, Member States and EU institutions are collectively responsible for developing the framework for a more effective and genuinely stronger Europe, they wrote.

(Ministry of Justice/MTI)