Slovakia will need to create a strategic space
The author is the chairman of the Hungarian Forum party
Slovakia is facing a number of challenges. But the biggest one is just waiting for us. In Central Europe, all the countries of the former CMEA have had the goal since the early 1990s of getting rid of common Russian domination and becoming members of the EU and NATO. It worked.
Today, however, the Hungarian government has put Hungary in the Union as a lone player. For the Hungarian government, the friendship with the war crime with Putin is extremely important. Orientation to the east has been noticeable for several years. But after the Russian aggression on Ukraine, their orientation became even more visible.
Today, the European Commission is starting out against Hungary, focusing on the rule of law. It can be assumed that money from the Union will no longer flow to Hungary as automatically as before, and tensions are rising. There is a concern that the Hungarian government has moved even further away from the Union, or that it is unlikely to take the “huxite” route. There is already a precedent for withdrawing from the Union.
It would be a bad journey, it would significantly affect the country bordering Hungary and the citizens living and working in the border areas. This would be especially bad for the Hungarian minorities.
Slovakia has a significant Hungarian minority, some of whom have sympathy for the Hungarian government. Therefore, it will be extremely important that our political elites maintain a “policy of strategic peace” and do not allow themselves to be withdrawn into this new rift. This would only believe in free tension in the south of Slovakia. And none of us need that.
We must not be drawn into the rift between Brussels and the Hungarian Government. We have to stay aside.