Events

Public forum in Eger

2017. 11. 17.

Kinga Gál, Member of the European Parliament, Vice-President of the European People’s Party and the LIBE Committee held a public forum in Eger on Friday focusing on the challenges in Europe – the Future of the European Union. The nearly 100 participants listened to fresh information about the Brussels decision on the mandatory relocation quota.

The event was hosted by Róbert Szabó, President of the Heves County Assembly who in his opening words stated that initially a professional forum for EU policy was planned, but the European Parliament has revised the theme of the event by its decision on the mandatory quotas. Róbert Szabó, the Hungarian delegate of the European Committee of the Regions, has reported on the challenges and contradictions faced by Hungarian representatives when Christian values have to be protected in Brussels that is thinking in a very different way.

Kinga Gál emphasized: The European Parliament with the newly accepted negotiating mandate confirmed the decision that radically transformed its previous proposal on asylum seekers and immigrants. According to the proposal, asylum seekers have to be distributed among the Member States and sent to the countries that have so far received the least number of people. Thus, immigrants could choose from four offered countries. If a Member State fails to fulfill this obligation, EU funds as provided for under the Structural Funds will be reduced as a sanction.

The MEP stated that the plenary session of the European Parliament confirmed the draft on the European relocation system accepted by the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. Despite the fact that the Central and Eastern European leaders did not vote in favor of the proposal, the overwhelming majority accepted the unrestricted relocation. Although the text should be approved by the European Council, the decision-making forum of the heads of national governments, this was an irresponsible step towards the future of Europe, said Kinga Gál.

She argues that during the relocation procedure entrants are not subject to thorough scrutiny. If someone does not have a passport the person’s ID is accepted based on his/her statement. In Brussels they are referring to solidarity, but this term is lenient as the costs of the Hungarian fence – which protected Europe’s outer border and which stopped the influx of immigrants – were not refund by Brussels.

Kinga Gál also pointed out that the demographic processes were analyzed at the sitting of the EPP faction of the Committee of the Regions in Budapest and found that European society is aging. In many European countries there is a crisis of values, they no longer assume the Christian values, but they reinforce the individualist world view of consumerism. All their efforts are aimed at setting us in this line. We are persistent because it is our duty and responsibility for our children to do so, she said.

Róbert Szabó said at the closing of the forum that it is a positive sign that the Hungarian position is beginning to be appreciated. In 2015 it was still a radical one, but nowadays more and more European politicians have come to us on the basis of personal expressions, but they do not publicly take this position. This can hopefully change.