Hungary tells EU leaders they must heed newcomers

April 11, 2003 - London Times
Hungary tells EU leaders they must heed newcomers
From Adam LeBor in Budapest

AS HUNGARY prepared to vote on joining the European Union, Peter Medgyessy, the Prime Minister, gave warning that the leading member states would no longer be able to set the European agenda on their own.
Every country would contribute to deepening the ties of the Union after the accession of the ten prospective new members, he told The Times. France and Germany in particular must be part of that process, in partnership with the new nations, which would form a new Central European bloc within the Union.

A softly-spoken man who sees himself as a consensus-builder, the Prime Minister does not lack the fiery Magyar spirit when it comes to defending the Hungarian national interest. Mr Medgyessy will not shy away from derailing the cosy alliances that have traditionally controlled Brussels, if necessary.

"We cannot say in advance that certain countries will be the carriers of wisdom in the future. This would question the whole sense of dialogue," he said.

"If we declare the result of a debate in advance, it loses its meaning. It is the duty of every sovereign country to voice his opinion and nobody has the stone of wisdom in his pocket. Truth does not depend on the size of the country. Power, yes, but truth is something else."

Hungarians go to the polls tomorrow in a referendum on EU membership. Opinion polls suggest that more than 60 per cent will vote to join.Malta and Slovenia have already voted to join, but this nation of ten million is the first former Warsaw Pact State to vote.

Hungary has long been a front-runner in the race for European integration. The Iron Curtain was first breached on the Hungarian-Austrian frontier in the summer of 1989.

The accession of the post-communist states will shake up the old European order and is expected to result in a new Central European bloc in Brussels. "Old Europe", traditionally dominated by France, was recently shaken, when Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, placed Hungary and other former Soviet bloc members firmly in the "New Europe" camp. Until recently, Hungary hosted a training camp for the Free Iraqi Forces and opened its airspace to the US and Britain. Hungary, with seven other countries, signed a letter of support for the US over Iraq.

Jacques Chirac, the French President, was sharply critical of the signatories, especially those EU accession countries which it accused of being "badly brought up".

Mr Medgyessy's signature was secured after British diplomatic lobbying. Mr Medgyessy enjoys good personal relations with Tony Blair because they share a common political outlook.

Mr Blair also intervened in support of Hungary during negotiations on EU accession, according to diplomats.

"I would not call this the old Europe, or the new Europe. I do not think this is a constructive approach," Mr Medgyessy said. "But these ten countries will certainly bring dynamism into the EU.

"The greatest lesson I learnt in the last ten months was the lack of dialogue, which led us to different opinions regarding Iraq and other issues. I would like Europe to acknowledge that a Europe of 25 countries will require much more intensive dialogue."

The opposition Fidesz Party has criticised the Government for presenting a too rosy picture of EU membership, although it supports accession.

Mr Medgyessy also rejects opposition criticism that his Government locked Hungary too firmly into the Anglo-American axis over Iraq.

Man at the helm

Born in Budapest in 1942, Peter Medgyessy held high-level government posts under the Communist regime, including Minister of Finance. He is credited with laying much of the groundwork for transition from a one-party state to a free market. Scandal came, however, as it was revealed last summer that he had worked for the communist-era counter-intelligence service. He told a parliamentary committee that his task had been to ease covertly Hungary's path to IMF membership, keeping the Soviet Union in the dark.