Presidency Begins: Head of State Praises the Art of Compromise in Brussels

On Monday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán officially took over the Presidency of the European Council for the next six months at a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo in Brussels. A Mass was held on the occasion of the opening of the presidency, and Tamás Sulyok, President of Hungary, and the Ambassador of Hungary to Belgium also gave speeches in Brussels.

Ambassador Tamás Iván Kovács, who received President Tamás Sulyok at the Liszt Institute in Brussels, said it was of particular importance that the President greeted the Hungarian community gathered at the event. He underlined that Brussels, the capital of Europe, is perhaps the best place for cross-border national reunification.

“The fact that so many of us have gathered today far from our homeland is a good symbol that, although we live in Europe and are shaping our future in cooperation with European member states, Hungarian national unity is important to us,” he said. He also drew attention to the fact that

the Hungarian Embassy in Brussels and the Liszt Institute are preparing a number of cultural events for the Hungarian presidency.

In his speech, President Tamás Sulyok stressed that “Hungarian virtue has always been a characteristic of the nation, which can best be described as sovereignty, and this virtue has very often been of benefit to the Hungarian people, saving them from a bad fate.”

The art of compromise can be learned in Brussels. Just as Belgians do not or often barely understand each other in Belgium, Europeans are the same way,”

he said. “But in the end, you must always seek compromise, without which no people, no nation, is likely to be viable,” the President noted.

“#Europe‘s strength and value therefore lies not in the amalgamation but in the aggregation of nations” – at the opening event of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union #Hu24Eu #Brussels pic.twitter.com/Pt2d6HzEq6

— Dr. Tamás Sulyok (@DrTamasSulyok) July 1, 2024

In his words, it is not only possible to live as a Hungarian in Hungary, as there was more than one period in the history when they were forced to leave their homeland. The President reminded that Hungarians are everywhere in the world. “There is perhaps no hidden corner of the world where the Hungarian word cannot be found. Just as the diverse talents of the Hungarian people are famous the world over,” he pointed out.

In this context, mentioning Hungary’s Nobel Prize winners Katalin Karikó and Ferenc Krausz, who were honored last year, Tamás Sulyok stressed that although they left Hungary for professional opportunities abroad, they never forgot their homeland. They kept and cherished their “Hungarianness.” “They both made a great contribution, and when they achieved success, they found their way home,” he noted.

Prior the speeches, a Mass for Europe was held in Brussels on Monday at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in the city center to mark the opening of the Hungarian presidency. The Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Luc Terlinden, Primate of Belgium, Archbishop Noël Treanor, Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union, Manuel Barrios Prieto, Secretary General of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), Benoit Lobet, parish priest of the cathedral, and Gábor Mohos, Bishop in charge of pastoral care for Hungarian Catholics abroad, in Hungarian, English, French and Dutch.

Gábor Mohos emphasized in his homily in English that Europeans had embraced the Christian faith and followed ideas that still influence people in Europe and on other continents. The Bishop asked for the intercession of St. Benedict, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Thérése of Lisieux to ensure that Europe does not lose the heritage that previous generations have left behind through this faith.

Holy Mass for Europe in the Gothic St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral

“Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, pray for them that persecute you and despitefully use you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.“ (Mt 5, 44-45) pic.twitter.com/gsFkgY9FYx

— Dr. Tamás Sulyok (@DrTamasSulyok) July 1, 2024

He expressed the hope that

the communities of believers, mindful of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, living in love, can renew the whole of European society.”

Gábor Mohos stressed that believers should pray for the gift of peace “made available to them again through the redeeming love of Jesus Christ.” “The loss of peace is above all the result of a lack of love, (…) and the basis of reconciliation with God is the recognition that we are sinners,” he pointed out. He stressed that love is God’s first commandment and is “the way to the future and to the fulfillment of life.”

We therefore pray that Europe will preserve these vital roots, without which it would not be culturally identical,”

he pointed out.

| Thank you to all participants of the Mass celebrated this afternoon at the Saints Michel and Gudule Cathedral in #Brussels for the start of @HU24EU. Special thanks to Archbishop Terlinden for the celebration and to Mgr. Mohos for the homily. pic.twitter.com/5xlH9hSmqu

— The Catholic Church in the EU (@ComeceEu) July 1, 2024

He also emphasized that “dialogue, listening to each other, respect for each other’s dignity and vision must show the way for Europe and the people of the continent “to fulfill their vocation in history.” In addition to the sermons, the Mass included universal prayers for Europe and Hungary.

Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Bruzák Noémi