The European Union will be competitive if the economies of the Member States are also competitive. Hungary therefore scrutinises all economic affairs from a competitiveness viewpoint, and urges action to be taken against the adoption of any decisions, whether at Member State, or EU level, that may undermine and compromise competitiveness, Szabolcs Takács, State Secretary for EU affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office said after the meeting of the EU’s General Affairs Council held on Tuesday in Brussels.

Mr Takács pointed out that European competitiveness is in the positive range and is improving in every Member State. Despite this, we must concentrate on the EU strategies which are able to sustain the Member States’ economic growth and can continue to keep competitiveness on an upward course. These areas include digitisation and industrialisation which reinforce integration and generate economic growth, whilst serving the best interests of European citizens.

The State Secretary stressed: we must take action against protectionist measures of every kind. The wage advantage, however, cannot be seen as social dumping as it enhances competitiveness as a concomitant of free competition. Hungary therefore expects the European Commission not to concentrate on the interests of a single country group upon the adoption of its positions, but on the functioning of the entire EU and the enforcement of EU law.

Mr Takács underlined: it is unacceptable for Hungary that certain multinational corporations offer goods of different quality in different countries. In his view, companies operating on the EU’s single internal market must not use double standards, and cannot mislead consumers. Not a single EU national can feel like a secondary citizen even from the viewpoint of food safety and food quality, he stressed. If this requires regulation at EU level, Hungary supports the adoption of such regulation, he added.

Upon disclosing the details of the meeting held in preparation for the two-day summit of the heads of state and government of the Member States which will begin on Thursday, Mr Takács said: the Hungarian position voiced for some time now, based on which the emphasis is placed on the external dimensions of migration in order to be better-equipped to control the process of migration, is beginning to gain ground. In this context, the European Union must adopt a package of measures which is viable and is capable of reducing the pressure of migration.

We must reinforce cooperation in the field of migration with the issuer and transit countries, and must introduce border controls on the EU’s external borders in the interest of enhancing security. An important element of this is the full and comprehensive observance of the migration agreement concluded with Turkey which significantly reduces the pressure of migration on the Western Balkans route, Mr Takács highlighted.

In the context of the issue of migration, he drew attention to the fact that the future of the Western Balkans region is an important question from the respect of the security of the whole of Europe. The State Secretary said that the European Union alone is able to alleviate the region’s political tensions which can be traced to historical roots. We must send a clear message to the States and inhabitants of the region to the effect that they, too, are players in and constituent parts of the common European future, the State Secretary said in stating his view.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)