Central Europe and the EU

The former Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi reflects in the news magazine Figyelő on relations between Central Europe and the European Union: "As far as Central Europe is concerned, the past two decades have been mainly successful. The spiritual essence of Central Europe and its cultural and intellectual community, which have matured over the centuries and which Central Europe's intelligentsia proudly upheld even in times of crisis, crystallised into economic and political reality within the framework of cooperation projects [Visegrád, CEFTA]. In due course the region was successfully integrated into the European Union. ... Contrary to certain views the democratic systems of the Central European countries do not perform much worse than those in Western Europe. However the Western press seems to take little note of this; reports on the region often focus on political extremes. Yet in none of the central European countries is there a right-wing extremist party or movement that counts on as much support as many ultra right forces in Western Europe. ... The countries of Central Europe must recognise that it is in their vital interest to successfully further European integration. For if European integration goes awry it would be a great loss for the world, for Europe, but above all for Central Europe."

» full article (external link, Hungarian)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Enlargement / Neighbourhood Policy, » Weltanschauung, » Central Europe, » Western Europe