3 days ago
Kocsis: We did not join NATO or the European Union to be a serf
'We did not join NATO or the European Union to be a serf but a member with full rights,' Máté Kocsis, the group leader of ruling Fidesz said.
During The Bold Truth About Hungary podcast, Kocsis said the EU leadership was 'so committed to Ukraine's entry' that 'it no longer matters who is an ally or who is an enemy, or a neutral party … we are members of NATO and the EU … we are their allies, peers, their partners … even if we have a different position on some important issues.'
'Then there is Ukraine, which is not a member, nor an ally … no doubt, it has been attacked … but not by Europe,' Kocsis said.
He said plans to fast-track Ukraine's European Union membership was 'the best decision in view of their own interests, since nine out of ten agricultural companies in Ukraine are in fact in US, or Western European … ownership.' The EU's direct agricultural subsidies would therefore 'transit Ukraine and land in Western Europe,' Kocsis said.
Kocsis also said if Ukraine were to be a member of the EU, the country could send 70-75 deputies to the European Parliament, some 10 percent of the whole assembly. Those MEPs, he added, 'would be grateful to the incumbent, liberal Brussels elite' and 'would not join the Patriots group associated with (Hungarian PM) Viktor Orban.'
Ukraine does not like that 'the Hungarian government wants to make a decision over their EU accession based on feedback from Hungarian voters,' Kocsis said.
He said it was obvious that Ukraine was 'trying to discredit Hungary's referendum (on Ukraine's entry) and put Hungary in a situation in which we could be accused of making preparations for a military intervention, which could then prove Ukraine's position in the international arena'. 'I am certain it all is behind the games and considerations of the Ukrainian secret services,' Kocsis added.
The Ukrainian leadership is trying to 'make Hungarians uncertain in their decision … should they oppose Ukraine's entry, Kocsis said, adding that some of the Hungarian media contributed to Ukraine's 'misinformation campaign'. He singled out news portal which he said had reported that the government's Voks2025 survey had been 'met with the public's total disinterest' whereas 1.2 million had returned the sheets to date.
'Ukraine appears to be manically trying to prove that Hungary is in fact pro-war rather than pro-peace,' Kocsis said, adding that the opposition Tisza Party was working to achieve the same end. He insisted that Ukraine was painting a picture of the people recently arrested on charges of espionage 'so that they could later accuse Hungary of plans to send tanks to Transcarpathia.'
