Hungary and Poland will set up a joint institute for comparative law to help joint efforts against the “suppression of opinions by liberal ideology”, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Monday.
After meeting Polish counterpart Zbigniew Raut, Szijjártó said that the policies of the two cabinets “patriotic and based on Christian values, and with a focus on national interests” were often unacceptable to “the international liberal mainstream… continually attacking the two countries”.
The new institute will “accumulate the necessary legal security, basis and knowledge against the suppression of opinions by liberal ideology”, he added.
Poland is not only a friend but also a brother-in-arms of Hungary and its closest ally in Europe, the minister said.
Hungary’s ability to enforce the interests of its foreign policy depends greatly on the strength of the Visegrad Group as well as the strength of the Hungarian-Polish alliance, he said, adding that strengthening those relationships was therefore always a key part of the country’s foreign policy.
The V4 comprising the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia is today the closest and most effective alliance within the European Union, Szijjártó said.
Hungary and Poland reject the European Commission’s new migration pact, the minister said, arguing that it was a “pro-migration” document that would encourage more and more would-be migrants to set off for Europe and still contained a “rebranded” migrant quota.
“That’s still a red line,” Szijjártó said. “It’s completely unacceptable for us.” He added that the V4 would continue to pursue the policies that had so far been successful in stopping immigration.
As regards the novel coronavirus, the minister said Hungary had initiated the establishment of a “Visegrad coordination centre” led by Poland to handle the epidemic.
Szijjártó also urged the construction of a high-speed railway line linking Warsaw and Budapest via Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Preparatory talks on the project are already under way and plans are for the parties to sign the documents laying the groundwork for the investment before the end of the year, he said.
Asked about the EC’s rule of law report, Szijjártó said similar “attacks” on Hungary and Poland in the past “had nothing to do with the rule of law and democracy”, arguing that these ideas had been “included solely for the purpose of blackmail”.
“The aim of the comparative law institute is that we aren’t taken for fools,” he added.
Rau called the V4 one of the most effective regional groupings within the EU, adding that the four economies were growing faster than the economies of western Europe.
He said the V4 also shared the same position on the situation in Belarus, adding that they were aware that the people of that country wanted to exercise their constitutional rights and shape their own future.
A package put together by the V4 premiers in Lublin which Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will present at the next meeting of the European Council will contribute towards this goal, Rau added.
Concerning the EC’s migration pact, the minister said the document denied immigrants and host countries the freedom of choice. The plan should be rethought and debated more thoroughly, he said.
Featured photo by Lajos Soós/MTI
