CGTN Europe's William Denselow interviewed Hungary's Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó during the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.
#Hungary #europe #economy
#Hungary #europe #economy
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00:00Minister, thank you so much for taking the time.
00:02I guess just first of all, we've got about six weeks or so to go left in the presidency.
00:06What more can we expect before your term expires?
00:10Well, we'll do our best in order to accelerate the enlargement of the European Union towards
00:17Western Balkans.
00:18The countries in that region have been waiting for being allowed to enter for 15 years in
00:27an average.
00:28So there are some who have been waiting even for a longer time.
00:31And the thing that this fact, that there has been no major forward progress when it comes
00:36to their accession procedures, has been ruining a lot the credibility of not only the European
00:42Union as such, but its enlargement policy as well.
00:46So we will try to make sure that by the end of the year, another IGC meeting takes place
00:52with Albania, letting them open a new cluster of chapters.
00:57And we also hope for an IGC meeting with Montenegro, where four chapters could be closed.
01:05Closing a chapter with them has not happened for a very long time either.
01:10And we also do hope to have an IGC with Serbia.
01:13Serbia is clearly ready to move forward on the integration path.
01:19They are clearly ready to open the third cluster, which is about inclusive growth and competitiveness.
01:26And to be honest, we don't see any kind of real reason why these three IGC meetings could
01:33not take place.
01:34And also, based on the success we have reached on the last Budapest meeting of the informal
01:43European Council, the Budapest declaration about the competitiveness of the European
01:48Union, we have to move forward when it comes to the implementation.
01:52So we still have some job for the remaining six weeks for sure.
01:56Talking of the Budapest declaration, how significant was that and tell me what can
02:01be achieved to see the EU become more competitive in the future?
02:05Well, look, if you look at the reality or at the diagnosis set out in the Draghi report,
02:13which have a lot of overlap, thanks God, you see that the weight of the European Union
02:21when it comes to global economy and global trade has been shrinking a lot.
02:26And we used to be number two in the world when it comes to contribution to the global
02:31GDP.
02:32Now we are number three only.
02:35When it comes to investments, it is obvious that the many Eastern companies have overtaken
02:41the Western companies.
02:43It is obvious that the success of the corporate structures of many Western companies depend
02:52on the supplies from the East.
02:54So this reality should be respected, should be put into consideration.
02:59And we should cut bureaucracy, we should cut absolutely unnecessary regulations.
03:07We should let member states work on their own tax measures.
03:14And we should not hinder any companies to work together with another one coming from
03:19another geographic region.
03:21So I think that the attractiveness of the European Union, attractiveness of the European
03:29Union economy must be strengthened through these measures.
03:33And the Draghi report says there's a spending shortfall of around $800 billion and innovation
03:37is another huge area of concern.
03:39What can be done to prevent this European brain drain that we've been seeing?
03:44First of all, we should make it very clear that the European Union should allocate much
03:49more funds to innovation, high added value production and R&D.
03:55And in the meantime, we should get rid of a very harmful practice, namely the very slow
04:01procedures of approving member states spending on attracting more investments into their
04:09own countries.
04:10Because what is the methodology now?
04:15In a case as a member state would like to give like an incentive to a company to invest
04:24in, we need the approval of the European Commission, getting which might take two, three years
04:30as well.
04:32So when we compete for investments with third countries, with the U.S., with North America,
04:37with Asia, if we tell the investor that, OK, guys, we are ready to giving you this kind
04:43of cash incentive.
04:45But whether this is going to be valid or not or approved or not, it will take two, three
04:50years.
04:51I mean, the investor will definitely make the investment somewhere else.
04:54So these kind of procedures must be shortened, must be made easier, more simple for which
05:01we could become more competitive, no question.
05:03And in recent days, there have been plenty of back and forth when it comes to the deforestation
05:08law in the parliament.
05:09Do you think this is a precursor for wider debates about climate regulation and competitiveness?
05:15Is this something we can expect in the next few years?
05:18Well, here we have two very important principles we would like to stick to first, that the
05:23issue of environmental protection must not be ideologized.
05:26It's not an ideological issue.
05:28That's a very, very practical issue.
05:29We have to protect our planet.
05:32We have to be able to, you know, to maintain it and give it over to our successors.
05:39So whether to protect your environment or not is not an ideological question.
05:45This is not green ideology.
05:47This is a practical obligation of ours.
05:50So there must be a balance kept between improving competitiveness and protecting the environment.
05:58We Hungarians, I think, can speak about this in a credible way because we are among those
06:03very few countries of the world which have been increasing their GDP parallel to decreasing
06:08the emission.
06:10Our other principle is that the trade and economy related issues must not be confused
06:21with issues which have nothing to do with trade and economy.
06:25So because if we confuse things with trade which have nothing to do with trade, then
06:30at the end of the day, we will only trade internally.
06:33And this is not what we need, I think.
06:36And the French president said recently that we're bracing for a world of trade wars.
06:42And last week, the European Commission said that we're seeing more economic uncertainty.
06:48Given that fact, how essentially should the EU prepare itself as we enter this realm?
06:56And do you agree with that sentiment?
06:58Look, we are really concerned about those voices here which are suggesting that we are
07:04moving towards an economic Cold War.
07:07We are also against those efforts which try to divide the world into blocks again.
07:12Because we Hungarians have lived 40 years as losers of a period which was based on division
07:21of the world into blocks.
07:22So instead of blocks, we want connectivity.
07:25So what is our answer?
07:26Our answer is economic neutrality.
07:28What does economic neutrality mean?
07:29It means that we do trade with countries and economic entities from both directions, east
07:35and west.
07:37Economy must be liberated from ideological burdens, ideological restrictions.
07:42This is the most important.
07:44And then we can avoid the world being divided into blocks again.
07:48And we can avoid economic or trade-related Cold War to be launched.
07:57When it comes to economic neutrality, we've of course in recent months seen a growing
08:01hostility when it comes to trade between the EU and China.
08:05What can be done to reach that mutually beneficial solution that both Beijing and Brussels say
08:10they want to achieve?
08:11I think it's very easy.
08:13We just should not interfere into issues which are operational on their own.
08:19We see what kind of benefits and positive outcome you can draw from such kind of a respect-based
08:26and trust-based cooperation.
08:28So I would argue in favour of letting the eastern and western companies to work together
08:35in Europe and instead of cutting the ties, instead of restricting the cooperation, instead
08:41of putting obstacles on the way, we should help the European companies to be strong enough
08:46to cooperate with the western companies.
08:50Look, when it comes to the tax or tariffs being imposed on the Chinese electromobility
08:58industry, we have raised the question to the Commission why on earth this measure is necessary.
09:04They have referred to their willingness to protect the representatives of the European
09:09automotive industry.
09:10And we talked to the biggest representatives and the strongest representatives of the European
09:14industry which said, please don't do that.
09:18It's against our interest.
09:19Don't do that.
09:20So that was the reason.
09:22There's no rational reason, only ideological, only political, why the European Commission
09:26has made this measure.
09:27And that can be killing to the competitiveness of the European economy again.
09:32How are the tariffs playing out in Hungary?
09:35Well, it's not really Hungary who is being harmed by this.
09:40It's the entire European economy and those companies who create the backbone of the European economy.
09:47So we, I mean, the country has attracted a lot of Chinese investors who then come to
09:53Europe, produce in Europe, will not be targeted by the tariff measures in a way if they had
10:00stayed only with the production in China.
10:03So we have benefited a lot about Chinese investments already.
10:07They have created jobs.
10:08They have been reliable employers.
10:11They have brought in, you know, super developed high tech.
10:17So we don't see the reason why we should not encourage them to come and invest more and
10:22more in Europe.
10:23So we are open to these companies as well.
10:28But generally speaking, we as a country, which has been integrated very deeply into the European
10:33Union when it comes to economy.
10:35For us, if the European economy is not performing well, it's bad news.
10:39No question.
10:40Now, ministers are gathering here in Brussels in the wake of the U.S. election results.
10:46How has the mood been impacted by the election?
10:50What are you sensing from your colleagues here at the council?
10:55Well, I think everybody is pretty nervous, except for us.
11:00And I can understand the reason.
11:02If they recall what they had said about President Trump during the last four to eight years,
11:09and if they think that President Trump remembers all those, then I think there's a good reason
11:14why they are nervous.
11:15You know, I think that we should, I mean, Europe should pay more respect to the American
11:25citizens because bashing their presidents, bashing the outcome of the elections, basically
11:32it means that the right or the ability of the American people to make a decision about
11:38their own future is being challenged by those who, you know, who act like this.
11:42So what we argue in favor is as tight cooperation with U.S. as possible.
11:47And actually, the fact that President Trump has won the election could offer a great chance
11:54to Europe as well to finally get rid of the very unsuccessful and failed strategy, which
12:00is a pro-war, pro-migration strategy.
12:04We should walk away from that and change to a no-war, no-migration strategy.
12:09But so far, at least what I have seen here today is a bit of lack of understanding about
12:15this new reality, or at least a denial of the new reality.
12:19Well, speaking of some of those comments, especially regarding the war in Ukraine with
12:23the U.S. administration, it's been reported that the Biden administration is now giving
12:27green light for missiles to hit deep into Russian territory.
12:33What's your reaction to that?
12:34Well, we are pretty concerned about such moves, such ideas, because such measures can increase
12:44the risk of escalation.
12:45We are a neighboring country, so in case of an escalation, we are immediately affected.
12:51We are not thousands of kilometers away.
12:53We are in the geographic neighborhood.
12:55So we strongly argue against the pro-war policy of the European Union and the current
13:02American administration.
13:04We strongly argue in favor of peace.
13:06We think that instead of, you know, increasing weapon deliveries, we should argue in favor
13:12of ceasefire, because ceasefire could open up the way to peace negotiations.
13:16Here the German federal chancellor was pretty much criticized by many why he has called
13:21President Putin.
13:22I think this is the only way, how you make peace, how you end suffering, how you give
13:26back the hope for a peaceful life of Europe, especially Ukrainian citizens for the future.
13:35And come January, when Donald Trump takes the oath of office, how do you think that
13:38his presidency will influence the EU's stance on Ukraine going forward?
13:43Knowing President Trump, we have now the best hope for peace, if you put into consideration
13:49the last 1,000 days since the war has broken out.
13:53So from our side, from Hungarian side, we support all measures aiming at peace, all
13:59measures aiming at ending of this conflict.
14:03I see that the European colleagues are absolutely not happy for that, but seeing the outcomes
14:09of the recent elections here in Europe, it's obvious that the pro-peace patriotic parties
14:14have been gaining, and I think that that will formulate the European policies as well.
14:20And just to switch to the Middle East, there's been calls from the foreign affairs chief
14:25to suspend political talks with Israel.
14:28What's Hungary's position on that?
14:29Well, that would be a very bad decision, I think, because once you cut the channels of
14:34communication, you lose the hope for peace.
14:38So I do believe that without consultations, without lines of communication being kept
14:43open, without diplomatic channels being operational, there's no hope for peaceful resolution of
14:49any kind of conflict in the world.
14:50So as we argue in favor of diplomatic channels to be reopened when it comes to Ukraine and
14:56Russia, we argue against cutting the channels when it comes to Israel as well.