On 7 December Ambassador András Kocsis attended the panel discussion „Challenges to the EU: East-West divide” organized in the framework of the Maastricht Europe Days at Maastricht University.
The Ambassador emphasised in his speech that on 9 December, we celebrate the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Hungary and the Netherlands and he also commemorated the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Maastricht. He outlined the Hungarian position on the state of the Union and also on the different EU policies and priorities. He introduced the economic results achieved by Hungary, the Hungary Helps programme, the family policy measures of the Hungarian government and last but not least the role of the Visegrad cooperation.
The other participant of the panel discussion, Bernard Bot former minister of foreign affairs reminded the audience of the motto: “United in diversity”. Accordingly, he argued for the importance of creating and maintaining unity, while underlying the significance of understanding and taking into account historical and cultural determinants. In his view, the European Union should have two keywords: cohesion and dialogue. He is convinced that we should also seek for dialogue where there are disagreements.
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Following the panel discussion, a lively dialogue developed during the Q&A with the 100 participants present.
Photos: Photostique
