The most important task will be to keep Europe together, and to that end we must also take into consideration the specificities of the countries of Central Europe, former Minister President of Bavaria Edmund Stoiber stated at a conference held on Thursday in Budapest on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

On the first day of the two-day conference entitled ‘Miracle or Necessity?’ held at the National University of Public Service, the Honorary Chairman of the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) said the countries which joined the European Union in 2004 have a different historical past than the countries of Western Europe. Therefore, the veteran politician continued, some of the European Commission’s “interventions” are received here differently than in “liberal countries” among which he mentioned Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and France. Quoting French President Emmanuel Macron’s statement asserting that Europe must become a world power, Mr Stoiber said “we must build bridges so that everyone should want that”.

In the Bavarian politician’s view, Europe’s migration policy must be changed, and as part of this the external borders will have to be treated differently. It is not sustainable in the long run that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan keeps putting pressure on Europe “for his own purposes” by threatening the continent that it will open Turkey’s borders to refugees, he stressed. It remains a good starting point that every state should contribute to Europe’s refugee policy in its own way, but equally, Mr Stoiber said. In his words, “the quota cannot be a solution”. He took the view that Europe must decide itself about its own security, and must also assume greater military responsibility. Mr Stoiber also stated his opinions regarding the role the 1956 revolution played in the change of regime in Eastern Europe and the concept of a “United States of Europe,” observing that his party CSU supports a Europe of nations. He further mentioned that the French President who is “still young” will remain a key factor in European politics for a long time to come.

Referring to the date of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Mr Stoiber stated that 9 November meant the beginning of the reunification of Europe. He recalled personal memories, highlighting that the German people will never forget the opening of Hungary’s borders to East German refugees. He also quoted former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl who said that European unity began on Hungarian soil.

At the conference, in his address discussing the history of the change of regime in Hungary, Imre Kónya, a participant of the 1989 opposition roundtable said the historical precursors of the free, independent and democratic Hungary that came into being between 1989 and 1991 go back to 1956 when the country was united in wanting freedom and national independence. Outlining in detail the “milestones” of the process of the fall of communism, praising the role played by the opposition roundtable and Prime Minister József Antall in the process, he said “the country turned from East to West, the Warsaw Pact and COMECON came to an end, Hungary regained its independence lost in March 1944”. Between 1989 and 1991, Hungary succeeded in realising its aspirations drowned in blood in 1956 by peaceful means, Mr Kónya stressed, taking the view that the change of regime could not have taken place without a change in the international balance of power.

As part of the stage discussion of the conference, Balázs Orbán, Parliamentary and Strategic State Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office enumerated the conclusions that today’s younger generations can draw from the history of the communist regime and the ensuing change of regime. He mentioned among these that it is easy to differentiate between the truth and lies, and this is why the propaganda of the communist regime could never work because it was built on lies, he said. “We can easily tell the difference between freedom and oppression,” he continued, also highlighting that peace, security and stability “cannot be taken for granted., […] we must fight for them”.

Mr Orbán described unity as a rare gift which must be appreciated. The politician pointed out in continuation that Europe is an integral unit which cannot be artificially divided, and nor can it be arranged into empires. He then said history never ends, and it heads in the direction, in his view, that we set. At the joint conference of the National University of Public Service, the Hanns Seidel Foundation and the Danube Institute, Mária Schmidt, Director of the House of Terror Museum, Gergely Prőhle and Clark Judge, former US President Donald Reagan’s speechwriter addressed the audience among others. On Friday Charles Powell, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s foreign policy advisor and former Hungarian Foreign Minister Géza Jeszenszky will deliver speeches.

(MTI)