PANEL DISCUSSION 2024
Balázs HIDVÉGHI:
WE MUST RESIST EFFORTS TO UNDERMINE
THE MORAL FOUNDATIONS OF OUR SOCIETY
Dear Colleagues, Honourable Delegates, Esteemed Guests,
It is with deep humility and gratitude that I stand before you today at this important and timely gathering. I would like to begin by offering my sincere thanks to the organizers of this conference for inviting me to speak on a topic that is not only dear to my heart but also vital to the future of our region and our people. I am grateful as well to all of you here today, who are spending this time together, for taking the time to engage in this dialogue. Your presence is a testament to the strength of our shared convictions, and I am confident that through our discussions, we can continue to build a better future for Central Europe – our common home.
We meet at a time of great trial for our continent. The war in Ukraine, which has caused untold human suffering and displaced millions, looms large over the whole Europe. The violence at our continent's doorstep reminds us that the peace we have long cherished cannot be taken for granted. We are witnessing the unravelling of stability that we had believed was secure for a long time, and we must confront this reality with both resolve and compassion. Let us not forget that, as Christians, we are called to be peacemakers. As Matthew says in Matthew 5:9, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." Our faith compels us to work tirelessly for peace and justice, not only for our own nations but for all people.
And with the Ukraine war, I think it is important to highlight and underline the Hungarian position, which is subject to a lot of criticism often. Our position is that this war does not have a solution on the battlefield. It needs a political solution. It needs a political deal that has to be struck. It must involve the USA and Russia. It cannot be just dealt within Ukraine between the armies there. It is a wider geopolitical struggle. And in Central Europe, we must be careful not to become the battleground for the conflict of larger powers again. We insist that the first step is a ceasefire. A ceasefire that is followed by evidently very tough and long negotiations. And if there is a political will to strike a deal than that can actually bring an end to this conflict, which is escalating and which is posing a great danger to all of us, as we have seen over the past 2.5 years.
Yet the challenges we face do not stop with the war. Economically, our region, like much of Europe, is grappling with industrial stagnation, inflation, and soaring energy costs. These economic hardships weigh heavily on the everyday lives of our people, particularly the most vulnerable among us. Our economies, while resilient, are still vulnerable to the ripple effects of global instability. It is our duty as leaders to ensure that we protect our citizens, particularly in times of uncertainty, while maintaining our commitment to our Christian values of charity, solidarity, and stewardship. We are called to be stewards of both our people and our resources, ensuring that economic policies promote the common good and respect the dignity of every citizen.
In the face of the war in Ukraine, Hungary has shown compassion and solidarity with those affected by the conflict. Since the outbreak of the war, we have welcomed and helped over 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees. By the way, this is sad proof that all the criticism about our position regarding illegal migration – why Hungary is not helping those in need – all that is just nonsense. For real refugees, like the Ukrainians fleeing through Hungary into Europe, we have helped every single one of them. It's the largest humanitarian effort of Hungary helping refugees.
These actions reflect our Christian duty to care for our neighbours in distress. We are called by our faith to love and serve one another, especially in times of crisis, and Hungary remains committed to offering assistance and support to those suffering the consequences of this war.
Perhaps the most enduring challenge we face, besides the war, is the ongoing migration crisis in Europe. Illegal migration poses a direct threat to the social fabric and cultural identity of our nations. As Christians, we are taught to welcome the stranger and care for the poor, but we must also be wise in how we approach this issue. The question is how best to help other continents, poorer regions, and nations. Our first duty is to our families, to our communities, and to the Christian heritage that has shaped our nations for centuries. We must balance compassion with prudence, ensuring that the integrity of our borders and our societies is upheld, while also providing assistance to those in genuine need. This crisis is not just a political issue; it is a moral one, and it requires us to act with both justice and mercy.
It's very important to underline, also, that the whole migration debate is not a one-dimensional debate. Also, trying to present it as a one-dimensional issue misleads people and misleads countries. The humanitarian aspect is not the only one here. There is also the aspect of public security. There is also the aspect of identity, of cultural heritage, of maintaining the social fabric of our homes and of our continent. And the left is especially cynical about this issue, and they use it as a political weapon. It's an abuse of the whole subject. Part of their agenda is a radical change of the European societies that they wish to achieve, relativism. And it goes hand in hand with an interesting loss of European self-identity and self-assuredness of who we are and what we should be proud of. Mass illegal migration is also a question of respect for the law. We know that the vast majority of those arriving in Europe are not actually refugees; they do not have the right to get refugee status. They are economic migrants who take advantage of the weakness of Europe and of the Brussels leadership that is unable to protect borders and that keeps talking about migration as something that is necessarily only good and inevitable. We disagree with both of those statements and reject the transformation of Europe, our security, and our identity. So I think that is the context in which we have to deal with the whole issue of migration.
Looking back at the history of Central Europe, we see that regional cohesion has not always been as strong as it could have been. For much of our shared past, the nations of Central Europe were divided, sometimes by external pressures, sometimes by internal conflict, our own competition between us, etc. We were often isolated from one another, and as a result, we were more vulnerable to the forces that sought to weaken us. But in recent years, and especially during the past 30 years after the change from communism to democracy, we have seen a remarkable renewal of solidarity. The recognition that our fates are intertwined has brought us together, and this unity is more important now than ever. The world has transformed, it is a global world now. It is in our vital interest to work together as Central Europeans even with our differences of opinion or past disagreements – we respect those but we need to look forward and be stronger together.
And at the heart of this unity is our shared Christian heritage. Christianity has been the bedrock of Central European culture for over a thousand years, shaping our laws, our customs, and our way of life. It is Christianity that has preserved the national and cultural identity of our people, even in the darkest of times. It is no exaggeration to say that without the moral and spiritual guidance of our faith, our nations could not be what they are today. Christianity has given us a common language of values – values that emphasize the dignity of human life, the sanctity of the family, and the importance of community. It is these values that have allowed us to survive centuries of invasion, occupation, and oppression.
And today we see that Europe that we so much longed to rejoin. This Europe is radically changing in the West, and in many ways, Central Europe is now the guardian of old Europe, the guardian of traditional Europe, and the guardian of common sense in many respects. And I think we need to realise this and be very serious about our efforts to defend our common identity and common heritage.
In Hungary, Christianity has been our anchor during some of the most turbulent moments in our history. During the Mongol invasions in the 13th century, when much of our nation was laid to waste, it was our Christian faith that inspired us to rebuild. Later, during the Ottoman invasions, Christianity united our people – and not only Hungarians, obviously, but the whole area of Central Europe. We have fought our battles together with Serbs, with Romanians, Germans, Slovaks, and all of us, in fact, in the face of overwhelming adversity, giving us the strength to endure. These examples from our past are not merely historical footnotes; they are reminders of the enduring power of faith to guide and sustain us through even the most difficult trials. And let us not forget the more recent calamities of the 20th century... For all of Central Europe, the long years of communist oppression were a time of great suffering and spiritual darkness. Yet even in those times, it was our Christian faith that gave us hope and the courage to resist.
Today, our shared Christian values are once again under attack, not only from external forces, not only by the war, not only by migration, but from within our societies. The traditional family, which has always been the foundation of our nations, faces new threats. Ideologies like gender theory, the promotion of non-monogamous relationships, and the undermining of the traditional roles of mothers and fathers are spreading across Europe, especially in Western Europe, challenging the very concept of family as we know it. These movements seek to redefine family in ways that are incompatible with our Christian understanding of marriage and parenthood. As leaders, it is our duty to stand firm in defence of the family. Mark said in 10:6, "God created them male and female," and we want to stick to that word of God from the Bible. And the sacred bond of marriage between a man and a woman is at the heart of God's plan for human flourishing. We must resist these efforts to erode the moral foundations of our societies and uphold the sanctity of the family, for it is within the family that children are nurtured and taught the values that will sustain our nations for generations to come.
The shared Christian heritage of Central Europe is not just a relic of the past; it is a living tradition that continues to shape our societies today. It is why we stand united in our rejection of illegal migration, which threatens to dilute the Christian identity that has been the foundation of our nations. It is why we place such great importance on the family, which we believe to be the cornerstone of a healthy and stable society. As the Bible teaches us, and I quote again from Psalm 127:1, "Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain." We must ensure that our policies support strong, stable families because strong families are the foundation upon which strong nations are built.
The migration crisis has tested our resolve, but it has also shown the power of cooperation between our nations, especially in this region. When Hungary faced the influx of millions of illegal migrants, we did not stand alone. We were joined by our Polish, Czech, Serbian and Austrian friends, whose border guards worked alongside ours to protect not just Hungary's borders but the borders of all of Europe. Together, we proved that it was possible to stand firm in defence of Christian values and our way of life, even in the face of great pressure. This cooperation was a clear demonstration of what can be achieved when we are united by a common cause, and it is a model for how we should continue to work together in the future addressing the challenges before us.
But our interdependence today goes beyond security matters. Economically, the nations of Central Europe are deeply intertwined, and this mutual dependence offers us great opportunities. In an increasingly unstable world, we must recognize that we are stronger together. As the global order shifts, Central Europe has the potential to articulate its voice more loudly on the international stage. Our region is not just an economic community of interest; it is a community of values, a community that is committed to standing firm in defence of its Christian identity and heritage and its way of life. In this changing world order, we must seize the opportunity to lead by example, demonstrating that prosperity and Christian values can and must go hand in hand.
For the economy, it is a clear shift right now. And again I have to be critical of Brussels initiatives that want to introduce a type of new cold war – an economic, a commercial cold war. They want to tell us with whom we should have commercial ties, with whom we should cooperate in terms of atomic energy, and from whom we should be able to buy resources for our economies. I don't think that it is in our interest to accept that kind of closing in, that kind of economic cold war. Our economic interests are to remain open – and this is true for all of our economies in this region – and to have commercial ties with as many players in the world as possible. Again, the world has shifted, it has transformed. There are new economic powers in the East and I think it's evident that our interest has to be to remain open to economic ties, commercial ties, in a neutral manner, for all potential partners that present themselves.
But we cannot do this alone. As the nations of Central Europe, we find ourselves between the great powers of the West and the rising nations of the East. This position presents both challenges and opportunities. Historically, our region has often been the battleground where great powers have clashed. But today, we have the chance to be something more. It is not only in our best interest but our responsibility to serve as a bridge of cooperation between the various players. And in that respect, I see this as a very important and heartwarming development that our parties – many of them represented here – have become stronger and stronger in elections recently at the European level as well as at the national level. We have to make sure that we don't let the left, the cancel culture ideologists, destroy our European cooperation. The EU is our home, and together, if we work together as Central Europeans, we are a stronger bloc in it. Definitely stronger than if we just stand alone. Brussels has turned the wrong way, towards a dead end, in fact. Brussels' policies lately have weakened the EU, and their initiatives do not serve the strengthening of a common European identity or common European cooperation. Brussels has become intolerant, especially the European Commission, which now basically says that it is a political commission – they say it about themselves. Now, we remember political commissions, political committees. We have had that from Moscow, all of us. And, thank you, we do not want it again. We do not want a new political commission or committee telling us from a far-away city or capital what to do, what to think, how to organise our lives, what to think about family values, social cohesion etc., etc. We need to maintain our sovereignty in defending those decisions that belong to us, that belong to our constitutions and we have to overcome these negative tendencies, censorship, and this political attack from Brussels. Brussels today has become, in many respects, an enemy of freedom, of freedom of speech, of freedom of thought, and of expression. We must counter those negative initiatives and I believe that if we stay together, if we link our efforts stronger and closer together, we can make it.
The gathering here today is a great example of this. It's a proof that we are strong; it's a proof that we want to cooperate. I wish all of you, all of us, God's blessing to do just that. Thank you for your attention!