Thank you very much. Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen,
Indeed the European Council will hold a meeting in Nagyszeben/Sibiu tomorrow, and the Romanian prime minister has invited me there. And as Fidesz has a strategic alliance with the RMDSZ [Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania] and a European Parliament election campaign is in progress, I accepted the invitation of party president Hunor Kelemen to spend one day before the summit in Nagyszeben/Sibiu and one day after it with Hungarians living here, and to encourage them to vote in the European Parliament election – and if they do so, to vote to vote for the RMDSZ list. This is my task, and this is why I’m here.
Every election to the European Parliament is a major opportunity for Hungary. You know that the Hungarian people is one that lives on the territories of several countries, and we see it as important for there to be a pan-Hungarian representation in international forums whenever the possibility arises. Of course the mother country represents itself, but for us it is important for every significant community which belongs to the Hungarian nation to represent itself in international forums with its own voice – and with a loud voice if possible. Therefore on our Fidesz list for this election there are candidates who live in countries which are not part of the European Union: for example on our list there are Serbian-, Transcarpathian- and Ukrainian-Hungarians. Thus we can bring about the direct representation of these countries in Brussels, and the Hungarian minorities living in Serbia and Ukraine will have their own voice in the European Parliament.
The situation here is different, however: this is Romania, and this country is a member of the European Union. Hungarians here who want to strengthen the representation in Brussels of the entire Hungarian nation and want Hungarians to have a strong collective voice must vote for the RMDSZ list here in Romania, so that they can contribute to the Hungarian representation. Regardless of whether or not they are dual nationals, I would like to encourage Hungarians living in Romania to vote for the RMDSZ list in this election: this is the only possibility which is legally open to them; and from a Hungarian point of view this is also sensible and right.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Romania, and I have also done this in the talks with the RMDSZ. Over the past four years Romania has been outstanding in its defence of the external borders of the European Union. This is not only important for Romania, but also for Hungary. We can always count on Romania defending its borders against migration arriving from the South and the East; and when Romania has defended its own eastern and southern borders, it has also defended Hungary. For this we owe it a debt of gratitude.
The manner in which Romanian border defence has stood its ground over the last four years has proved that Romania deserves to be a member of the Schengen Area. Therefore from now on the fitness of Romania for Schengen membership is not a matter of theory, philosophy or legality: it is a matter of fact that in a difficult period Romania has proved that it is able to defend the external Schengen borders of the European Union. Therefore Romania should receive the opportunity of becoming a member of the Schengen Area, should it so wish. And so on behalf of Hungary I thank Romania for what it has done.
Incidentally, I look forward to the election with optimism: we – both us at home and the RMDSZ here – think that our prospects are good. We have done a great deal to prove that we are worthy of voters’ trust in us. I hope that we shall receive that trust.
Thank you for your attention.