BUDAPEST-UNION EUROPEENNE: LE TEMPS DES MALENTENDUS

In: Politique internationale: pi, Band 131

Abstract

In this exclusive interview with Luc Rosenzweig, the Hungarian foreign affairs minister Janos Martonyi details his stance on several issues which have recently made headlines across Europe. Just as Hungary was about to assume the EU's rotating presidency, Budapest kicked up a storm on two fronts, first with a new law on the media, which in some regards harks back to the dark old days of the former "people's democracy", and then with a "citizenship law", which provoked outrage in neighboring Slovakia. Eager to defuse tensions, Janos Martonyi reiterates the values of tolerance and democracy which underpin the Orban government's actions. As a government minister, Martonyi intends to put these principles to work to deal with the Roma issue, one of Hungary's priorities during its presidency of the European Union. But the main concern is the country's economic troubles: after teetering on the brink of bankruptcy in 2007, Hungary is slowly recovering, but it is still a long way from being able to make a credible application to join the euro zone. Adapted from the source document.