Czechia fumes after Orbán compares EU with Hitler’s plans

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s recent comparison of European integration to Hitler’s plans were rejected by Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský, who pointed out that nobody is forcing Hungary to be a part of the European community.

Meanwhile, EU Commissioner Věra Jourová revealed that Hungarians avoid taking pictures with her in Brussels in order not to face “persecution at home”.

Even Adolf Hitler dreamed of European unity and referred subsequently to the idea of “ever closer union,” Orbán said in Veszprém in the west of Hungary on Friday, which sparked criticism from Czechia.

“No one is forcing Hungarians to be part of this community if they feel this uncomfortable,” Czech Foreign Minister Lipavský (Greens/EFA, Pirates) said in a TV debate on Czech Television on Sunday.

Hungarians visit Jourová ‘secretly’

Jourová, who also joined the debate, said that Hungarian reputation suffers with every such statement.

Asked by a moderator whether she still considers Hungary a democratic country, she replied: “I have long-standing doubts about this.”

However, she emphasised that, despite Orbán’s rhetoric, some Hungarian diplomats are still open to an eventual compromise on issues requiring a unanimity vote at the EU level – such as sanctions.

“And there are also professional and hard-working Hungarian officials who negotiate with us on the introduction of reforms in the judiciary or public procurement,” Jourová said, adding that the approach of Hungarian officials shows that the country “desperately needs money”.

NGOs: Hungary’s judicial package reform failed to address EU requirements

Hungary has failed to adequately address the EU’s concerns around the judicial package, which risks billions of Euros in much-awaited EU funds, several NGOs, including Amnesty International Hungary, said.

The Hungarian parliament has voted in favour of a bill initially intended …

During the TV debate, Jourová also said that some Hungarian students, teachers or organisations visiting her in Brussels “wish to keep these meetings in secret” and do not want to take pictures with her so “they would not face persecution at home.”

(Aneta Zachová | EURACTIV.cz)

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