Presidency evolves. Who would have expected that a very heartfelt appeal in favour of integrating the Roma into European Society would be made by the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán? This is even more surprising because the appeal is accompanied by a positive and optimistic assessment of what the Roma people can bring to our civilisation. Mr Orbán said it was intolerable that in the birth place of Western civilisation, the living conditions of one group of citizens are so much worse than for the rest of the population, “these people have been very cruelly left out by European economies. The children we need for the future survival of our society are living within our borders and speak the same language, share the same religion and have a culture very close to our own” (see EUROPE 10358). It would be a safe bet that, in light of these sentiments, Hungary will actively be participating in the implementation of the programme being prepared for the integration of the Roma (let's not forget that European regulation will allow the Roma to travel more freely throughout the EU, something Eastern European member states will certainly not disapprove of).
Initial distrust. In general, active participation in Community life helps develop a greater knowledge and understanding of the situation in Europe. After the last elections in Hungary, the governmental majority expressed a distrust of Europe and its Brussels-based management. Its role chairing the Council has meant that the Hungarian government had to throw itself into this very system of management and it has gained a better understanding of EU objectives and their objectives. The Hungarian government has had to learn about how the institutions operate, including the compromise mechanism between the different national positions. Mr Orbán's party was rather Eurosceptic and won the elections on the basis of a Euro-sceptic manifesto. In its position as presidency of the Council of the EU, initial contact with the Commission and especially the European Parliament, did not prove easy. Mistrust was mutual and no one was unaware of the divergences over Hungarian legislation on the freedom of information. The Hungarian government's European programme was described as being conservative, nationalistic and populist and it particularly emphasised projects related to Hungary and neighbouring countries: Danube region development strategy; accession negotiations with the Balkan countries; inclusion of Bulgaria and Romania in the Schengen area and strengthening neighbourhood policy eastwards. Mr Orbán has still recently been criticising the slowness of negotiations with Croatia and the stalemate with regard to Macedonia (see EUROPE 10359).
The weight of the past. In its everyday practice, the Hungarian presidency has learnt to carry out its management role more efficiently. Obviously, the Orbán government has not changed the political direction it received with the mandate granted it by the Hungarian people but its understanding of European construction has developed and at the same time, Brussels has gained a better understanding of the situation in Hungary. In the First World War, Hungary was the main loser and had two thirds of its territory annexed in 1920. A large part of its population was scattered around in neighbouring countries. Two and a half million ethnic Hungarians now live beyond the country's borders in Slovakia, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine. The Orbán government has opened, or extended, a process allowing these groups to apply for Hungarian passports. This allows free movement in the Schengen area and entry to the US. Sometimes, however, complications and misunderstandings arise, such as, for example, Slovakia's opposition to dual nationality. It considers that its inhabitants must make the choice of whether they are Slovakian or Hungarian.
Divergences. This brief sketch of the current situation and the historical reasons underpinning certain attitudes clarifies the complications and divergences. At a national level, certain initiatives by the Orbán government have recently been opposed, such as the new Constitution, which includes tough economic rules but it is also controversial at a European level: Guy Verhofstadt, who is increasingly becoming the key parliamentary player when it comes to defending European construction against intergovernmental preferences, strongly attacked this Constitution and provoked in return, an equally sharp a response from Hungarian MEPs in the EPP group. These spats are normal and we cannot ask the socialist group at the EP or Mr Verhofstadt to agree with the Orbán government. Nevertheless, its ministers currently chairing the Council are now much more aware of the situation in Europe. Let's not forget that Hungary agreed to revise its legislation on the freedom of information, in an effort to comply with European principles.
On one aspect, however, the orientation adopted by Mr Orbán appears to me to be both mistaken and dangerous: EU accession conditions for the Balkan countries. This column will return to this subject tomorrow. (F.R.transl/fl)