On the constitutional limits of EU integration
“We need to push the constitutional limits of European Union integration. We need to use every legal tool at our disposal and with the coordinated work of the political and nongovernmental organisations we need to stop the double standards used to deal with minority protection issues”, said MEP Csaba Sógor Friday, on the 25th of July at Tușnad. Enikő Győri, secretary of state for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations, and Hungarian MEP from Slovakia Pál Csáky were also present at the discussion moderated by editor in chief of Heti Válasz, Gábor Borókai.
“There are 28 member states and over 500 million EU citizens, so it isn’t easy to make a legislative alignment to everyone’s satisfaction. Our work in Brussels sometimes includes militating for minority protection policies that push the boundaries of the constitution. We fight for our minority - and language protection rights and stress that we don’t want to live in a centralised nation-state”, stated Csaba Sógor. The MEP expresssed his belief that the civil society should complement political work with initiatives such as the Minority SafePack or with mass movements. The Hungarian MEP from Romania pointed out that the Hungarian-Romanian or the Slovakian-Romanian cooperation can only be fruitful if the trans-border Hungarian cooperation has its common positions, something that is vital at a European level too.
The politicians agreed that the EU has to take firm action to peacefully resolve the conflict in Ukraine. In the opinion of Csaba Sógor, when seeking a solution to this situation we should pay special attention to the needs and interests of the Hungarian minority living in Ukraine, too.
