We need a strong and diverse Europe built on the foundations of families and sovereign nations; the future of Europe, too, could be built on these foundations, the Justice Minister stressed on Friday in the Parliament Building.

In her address delivered at the prize award ceremony of the competition entitled ‘Hungary and the Central European region in Europe, the European Union in the world’ for college and university students, Judit Varga highlighted that Europe must be about common opportunities, not about the diminishing of nations. Without strong nations Europe itself can only remain weak, she pointed out.

She stressed that “only Member States sincerely and bravely standing up for their own national interests can comprise a European community that can remain successful in the long run”. Hungary’s EU membership requires the proactive representation of interests as well as sober and wise cooperation, not conformity and resignation, she said.

She took the view that there is no shortage of challenges as the 2008 economic crisis left the EU weak, the migration crisis divided the EU, later the EU lost Britain, and now we are compelled to face the coronavirus epidemic. “But we Hungarians have always been able to get back up on our feet, even from a great national tragedy such as the one that happened in our country exactly a hundred years ago,” she recalled.

Ms. Varga said our national culture is a rich contribution to the diversity of European unity, and a strong Hungary also makes Europe stronger.

She highlighted that the future of Hungary, Eastern and Central Europe and the European Union cannot be “the toy of ideologically overcharged political ideologies”. We Hungarians together with all European nations are shaping the future, and young generations will have the lion’s share in deciding the key issues of the future, she added.

She said “we believe in a strong Europe of strong nations,” that in a civilisation resting on Christian values only nations are capable of cooperation that serves everyone’s best interests, and therefore we must never forget about Europe’s spiritual roots.

She pointed out that it was important to arouse young people’s interest in EU affairs, and to ensure that their comments and observations also emerge in European debates. In this department Hungary is not doing badly, young Hungarians are talented, creative and committed, she said. She added that it is necessary to place as much emphasis as possible on the training and education of the next generation of committed young experts who will be able to represent Hungarian interests effectively.

Head of the European Commission’s Representation in Hungary Gábor Zupkó stressed that the EU is built on the principle that there are questions which a community finds easier to answer on the basis of common interests and values. These include the maintenance of peace, the promotion of the economy, climate change, the management of digital challenges and retaining Europe’s global influence, he listed.

At the same time, the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality are equally important, meaning that if an issue can be managed and resolved more effectively at a local or regional level, there is no need for common answers, he explained.

He observed that at times when we are faced with this many challenges, there is a dynamic debate about where the most effective answers can be found to each question.

The representation head also said we are living in a turbulent, fast-changing world that is full of challenges where so many things are changing all at once that it is necessary to revise even short-term programmes, not forgetting the original objectives, but adjusting to the new challenges.

He said young people are the future in the training of experts and constitute a next-generation team which guarantees a quality debate about the challenges and future of the EU.

The prizes were handed over by Speaker of the House László Kövér, Judit Varga and Gábor Zupkó. This year, in response to the competition with a history of more than twenty years, a great number of entries were received from students from both the motherland and beyond the borders. The competition announcement published last December also included an overview of the Central European region and the role of our region.

(Ministry of Justice / MTI)