Foreign affairs director of the Budapest-based think-tank, Nézőpont, Mihály Rosonczy-Kovács gave an interview to Piotr Włoczyk at sovereignty.pl in which he discussed the chances of Central European future towards the federalistic trends in the EU. Exceprt.
Motivation, freshness and European pride can now be found in Central Europe, of which V4 is the most important pillar. This is a region where governments are not content to respond to the challenges of recent years with imported solutions imposed from outside. The successes of Poland and Hungary show that this approach is good not only for preserving our identity, but also for maintaining strong economies.
The Western European right must fight and win their political battles on their own, but we in Central Europe can provide inspiration and a set of best-practices for them. It is from us that they can draw the conviction that it is possible to defend families, the European way of life, Christianity, freedom of speech and democracy. The heart of Europe is now beating in Central Europe, a great opportunity and a historic – European – responsibility.
How can we cause the Germans and the French listen to the voice of our part of Europe?
It should be noted that Germany is the V4’s most important economic partner (in 2021, foreign trade between the V4 and Germany was twice that between Germany and France and one and a half times that between Germany and China). However, one often gets the impression that, at least at the political level, the voice of the new communism that is gaining ground in parts of the United States is also spreading through Germany. In many cases, for example in the statements of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, some Germans try to impose ideologies imported from overseas on others with the same arrogant and lecturing attitude that has been the source of so many tragedies in the past. And at the same time, it is as if they are forgetting the elements of the great German spirit and culture to which our continent owes so much. Meanwhile, we see that the German government is not afraid to seek exceptions to Union rules when it comes to supporting its own economy. The combination of these two attitudes – ideological unification and protectionist economic policies – results in the emerging European superstate ultimately favoring the Germans.
It follows that political cooperation with the French is now more likely to yield results against federalism, which seeks to abolish nation-states. After Brexit, a stronger dialogue between the V4 and France is necessary to maintain the balance of power in Europe We see that the French people show a much greater willingness to defend their national identity than the German. The coming to power of Giorgia Meloni may also bring a genuine Italian voice into European politics. An Italian voice that combines the experience of Central and Western Europe.
The essence of sovereign thinking is that it is far better to debate, to reach a compromise after an honest confrontation of interests and arguments than to pretend unity by invoking false ideologies that hide the interests of great powers. The upcoming European elections and the process of dividing positions in the EU may strengthen the V4’s negotiating power, which could make Central Europe’s prospects more visible.
Read the whole article on sovereignty.pl