According to a survey conducted on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, the majority of Hungarians are unsatisfied with the Brussels leadership, but would not leave the European Union. At the forum entitled „60 Years of the Treaty of Rome – Agony or Awakening in Europe?”, the State Secretary for EU Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office said in evaluation: there is cause to celebrate and to respect anniversaries as this gives us the opportunity to define the values of European integration.

Szabolcs Takács stressed: the hope of security and welfare was the engine of European integration, a vision which the political elite of the time defined 60 years ago in the proximity of the experience of war. In his view, at the same time, there are few politicians today who think in a responsible manner, and have an at least medium-term vision regarding Europe.

According to the State Secretary, after the financial crisis which began in 2008, followed by the security policy crises that emerged in the environment and immediate neighbourhood of Europe, in Ukraine, and more recently the unprecedented flow of migration, a legitimacy crisis set in which calls the entire integration process into question and which culminated in Brexit. In his view, the European Union was unable to respond to these crises of different types.

The State Secretary regards the federalist concept that seeks to establish a United States of Europe as a dead-end street, and also criticised the idea of a two-speed Europe. By contrast, he said, the vision of the Hungarian Government features a balance of the four fundamental freedoms and multi-level European cooperation. He stressed: any suggestions that the Visegrád countries seek to dissolve the treaty must be dispersed. He remarked that Hungary is one of the most law-abiding Member States in the EU, mentioning as an example that the decisions adopted on issues of migration complied with the Schengen Code. The State Secretary pointed out: one of the greatest problems of the EU is that it applies the jointly conceived EU laws selectively, and on the institutional side, powers are mostly exceeded. We need a calm and collected dialogue, and the enlargement of the European Union as the integration of the Western Balkans is in the EU’s best interests, he argued.

Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the Federal Republic of Germany and Italy signed the Treaty of Rome establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) sixty years ago, on 25 March 1957. The EEC later became the European Communities, and the European Union.

The Managing Director of the pollster Nézőpont Intézet said: according to their survey, two thirds of the entire adult population (66 per cent) take the view that things are heading in a negative direction in Europe, and almost six people out of ten (56 per cent) are not satisfied with the EU leadership in Brussels. At the same time, the criticism levelled at Brussels does not go hand in hand with opposition to EU membership as seven interviewees out of ten (73 per cent) believe that Hungary should not leave the European Union. Csaba Fodor added: on the latter issue, the supporters of Jobbik tend to be the most divided, but even in their circles, those in favour of membership are in an overwhelming majority (72 per cent), compared with those who favour leaving the EU (24 per cent). He remarked: left-wing supporters are the most divided as regards the state of Europe. At the same time, 57 per cent of them are also unsatisfied, and only 40 per cent share a positive opinion. The Managing Director of Nézőpont Intézet took the view: while despite all its evident flaws, the European integration process conveys a number of advantages, there is no cause to celebrate on the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome as the European Union is in the biggest crisis of its history today. In his view, the stakes of the next few years will be whether Europe will have a voice and the ability to enforce its interests on the global scene.

(Prime Minister’s Office, MTI)