The Foreign Minister has highlighted how cooperation between East and West, with Hungary as a bridgehead, is in the country’s interest.
“We live in a rapidly changing world - old systems are collapsing, new ones are forming,” said Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, at the Eurasia Forum in Budapest.
Minister Szijjarto said the US and China were the world’s most competitive nations while the European Union lagged behind them. He referred to America’s “patriotic government” and its America First political and economic doctrine, while China was still expanding fast, with “remarkable” annual growth of around 6 percent.
The Minister said the European Union had been late to respond to these challenges. Instead of intensifying competition, the EU has embarked on policies that restrict internal competition, and this acts as deadweight on its external competitiveness.
He highlighted how Central European countries have made structural reforms, including tax reform, that has strengthened their competitiveness. He added that the EU wanted to harmonize tax regimes. “We are sending a message to western European states that we’ll block all measures to harmonize taxes,” he said.
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