Page 10 - bne IntelliNews weekly newspaper June 23

Central Europe
June 23, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 10
Visegrad states told no separate definition of EU solidarity possible
bne IntelliNews
Hungary and its regional neighbours cannot have their own separate definition of EU solidarity oth- erwise there will be no bloc, the prime ministers of the Central European four were told by their peer from Luxembourg on June 19.
Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel told a meeting of Benelux states and the Visegrad Four that the principle of EU "solidarity isn't flexible". That barb came after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban claimed that a “single European migration policy” stands no chance of working. The comments come after Brussels launched infringement procedures against the Czech Re- public, Hungary and Poland last week over their refusal to take part in EU migrant quotas.
The spat came at a meeting in Warsaw ahead of an EU summit in the Belgian capital later this week, and served as an arena in which Orban practiced his standard rhetoric. However, the Hungarian PM has a habit of being much quieter in front of the heavyweights in the bloc.
"To say that there will be one integrated, single European migration policy, I do have my doubts and I do not see any chance for this," Orban told the group according to AFP. "We should not accept any migra- tion policy that would change who we are now.”
The meeting also saw Hungary take over the 12-month presidency of the Visegrad Group from
fellow populist Poland. Aside from the migrant issue, however, the four states agree on little.
Still, Orban spoke highly of the cooperation between them, claiming that without the
V4’s joint efforts “hundreds of thousands [of migrants] would still be pouring into Europe, further destroying the safe lives of its peoples,” according to MTI. “The four of us have succeeded in protecting not only the southern borders of Hungary but those of Europe, too.”
Hungary has also been blasted by international institutions and NGOs for its treatment of mi- grants on its borders. Reports of internment and violence perpetrated by police are common.
Orban insisted, however, that Central Europe “has nothing to feel ashamed of” in terms of
its economy, security, culture, or the quality of
its democracy, and claimed the EU has greatly benefitted from integrating the countries of the region. The value of cooperation between Central Europe’s vibrant and viable countries is burnished in contrast to Europe’s “cooperation deficit” and lack of common purpose, the Hungarian added.
However, Bettel was quick to shoot back. “If we play the game where everyone has their own individual definition of solidarity, it’s the end of the European Union. Solidarity is the basis of the European project,” said the Luxembourg PM.