The prime minister's political director says Polish-Hungarian relations are important despite differing perceptions of the war in Ukraine.Continue reading
Former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz gave an interview to Kossuth Radio over the weekend, after taking part in a panel discussion at the MCC Feszt in Esztergom. He is currently working as a strategist for Peter Thiel, an American investor close to Donald Trump, and spoke about US policy, the future of Europe, and his past as chancellor, reports Hirado.hu.
The former chancellor said that we now live in a world whose parts are drifting further and further apart – the deepening rift between China and the United States, and the war in Ukraine are dividing the world. In this situation, he underlined, Europe must find its own way to deal with the situation in a smart way.
Sebastian Kurz emphasized that
the most important thing is to be economically strong, and remain competitive, because this is the basis for prosperity and strength in Europe.
He pointed out that the US is pursuing a strategy of disengagement, and that the Democrats and Republicans agree on this, i.e. the separation of the US and China. However, he hopes that Europe will find a smart, independent position, because China is one of our most important economic partners. If economic relations are more restricted, trade will be reduced and that will automatically lead to a reduction in prosperity.
On migration, he said that time has proved right those who said from the beginning that the unlimited admission of refugees cannot work. He recalled that he and Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó had been severely criticized for standing up for their views, being labelled racist and far-right.
However, according to Kurz, an increasing number of European politicians now understand that unlimited migration does not work, that it is up to the states themselves to decide who they want to accept, not to the people smugglers.
He added, however, that there is still much to be done, because the external borders are still not sufficiently protected in many places, there is still too much illegal migration and there is still no overall system that really works well in Europe.
On next year’s European Parliament elections, the former chancellor said it was very important that the civil side should be strengthened against a certain left-wing tendency that has certainly not been good for Europe’s development.
Speaking about relations between Hungary and Austria, Kurz explained that there was good cooperation between the two countries, good foundations, a lot of economic contacts, and these were all encouraging signs for the future.
Featured photo via Facebook/Mathias Corvinus Collegium – MCC