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“What Viktor Orbán has now achieved in Brussels may only have been achieved by the former president of the French Council of Ministers, Talleyrand, when he restored France’s place in the European political system shortly after Napoleon’s defeat. As a result of Viktor Orbán’s activities, the union went from being a community of values to a community of interests; thus Orbán managed to completely redefine the essence of the European Union ”, says Péter Róna.
The renowned economist was asked by György Bolgár on the Klubrádió program on Friday night. Péter Róna put it this way:
Viktor Orbán was able to get an amazing result in a completely beaten situation.
And although, according to the economist, Article 2 of the agreement reaffirms the commitment to European values, it immediately denies it by stating that a violation of values can only be corrected if the damage affects the economic interests of the Union. According to Klára Dobrev, this should be interpreted as meaning that the union’s financial interests are harmed even if there is no freedom of the press in a country or the administration of justice is controlled by the government.
Come on! It is quite clear from the text and from what was said during and after the negotiations that Klára Dobrev is the victim of a great mistake. Because if that were true, why should it have been clear in the text that this mechanism will only deal with elements that harm financial interests? The original agreement did not include what the current agreement establishes, which is that the mechanism can only be applied if there is real and direct damage between the denounced act and the financial interests of the EU. Therefore, this mechanism is based on freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, of the press, of religion, etc. that is, it does not apply to political issues
– said Péter Róna, then added:
As long as the planned financial support is withdrawn, so much action must be taken, so much must be done that, in practice, sanctions are hardly applied. According to the economist, now nothing less has happened in Brussels, that the leaders of the EU, the most influential countries in the Union, led by Germany, they gave up the great dream and plan of creating a community based on values , and created an organization that is not a community of values but of interests of sovereign countries.
This community of interest is limited to financial matters only. Viktor Orbán managed to achieve what the British wanted before leaving. They did not dispute that the EU was a large customs union and economic community, but objected that it wanted to incorporate political values into its activities.
Péter Róna explained. When the presenter asked what we can do next, let’s give up all hope, the economist made it clear: let’s give up all hope, yes.
The point is that Germany has no interest in creating a prosperous, free and liberal community of values in Central Europe. Rather, Central Europe is interested in providing it with cheap labor so that large German industry can maintain its international competitiveness.
He added that, in his opinion, a mirage lives in the mind of the Hungarian left about how Western Europe relates to Hungary, Poland and other countries in the region.
They fooled us for 30 years and we didn’t realize what it was about. Orban does not think about leaving Hungary out of the EU, giving up the economic benefits, the money, but he wanted to have his hands free in the political field. With the Brussels agreement, Orbán redefined the essence of the European Union: it turned a community of interests into a community of interests.
(Cover photo: Viktor Orbán in Brussels on December 11, 2020. Photo: Francisco Seco / Pool / REUTERS)
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