Former Socialist MEP urges foreign policy consensus

A veteran left-wing politician hopes Péter Magyar can bridge the foreign policy gap dividing government and opposition.

On Index, Gyula Hegyi who after serving as a member of the Hungarian National Assembly and then of the European Parliament also chaired the National Board of the Socialist Party, sees both sides of the political divide equally mistaken in their approaches to international politics. The relentless confrontation between the government and the European Commission is dictated by internal propaganda considerations, he believes. He also condemns the opposition’s response of what he describes as uncritical adulation for the European Union. Hegyi welcomes Péter Magyar’s proposal that Hungary should join the European Prosecutor’s Office in order to suppress corruption, but without advocating a United States of Europe. Preserving member countries’ veto right on key issues of national interest is vital for small countries, he argues. Such an approach could lay the foundations for a future foreign policy consensus in Hungary, Hegyi suggests.

Tags: foreign affairs, Péter Magyar