The European Union at crossroads

The three-day MCC event in Esztergom also features a number of public debates. Despite the bad weather, many people were curious to hear Gergely Gulyás and András Schiffer's views on the present and future of the EU. One of the main topics of the discussion was the recently enacted child protection act. The Minister noted that it was both unusual and outrageous that the European Commission required an EU member state to change specific legal provisions. In his view, this also indicates that this is not a legal but a political issue.  According to András Schiffer, Hungary made a mistake by not consulting Brussels on certain passages of the legislative package. Furthermore, the text of the law does indeed contain sentences that are contrary to the Fundamental Law. The former co-chair of LMP, however, believes that the debate on the issue is of a domestic political nature. Mr. Schiffer also added that the phenomenon of multinational companies being interested in limiting the powers of member states is becoming increasingly strong within the European Union, and the influence of NGOs is growing.
 
Interesting public debates will take place on the MCC Feszt Mol Main Stage on Friday as well. Topics include the future of education, the countryside vs. capital city divide, or the successes of Hungarian companies. One of the festival’s distinguished foreign guests, Dennis Prager, listed amongst the most influential conservative political commentators in the United States, will also speak.