The European Union in 2011 will face the most difficult year for the past two decades, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
Presenting Hungary's EU presidency program, Orbán said the Hungarian government wanted to contribute European unity "with the faith of 1956 revolutionaries". The Hungarian presidency aimed to promote a strong Europe, he said.
Orbán said Hungary felt "justified by history" in holding the post of EU president. He added the greatest challenge for the EU was to overcome the global crisis and find its place in a radically transforming and redistributed world economy.
He said Europe's "exorbitantly large debt portfolio" made it weak. This could only be resolved by promoting employment, he added, saying the "cornerstone of the European code" was the principle of economic prudence.
It is important to reinforce the common market, to maintain the cohesion policy, as well as creating a friendly business environment for small and medium size enterprises, he said.
On energy issues, Orban said that it was crucial to create a "real and permeable" energy market in Europe and to ensure alternative supply routes.
Concerning the Roma, Orbán described the minority as "a group of society in the most difficult situation". He said Europe must guarantee them the opportunity to integrate. Should attempts to form a European Roma integration strategy fail, already settled and partially integrated Roma communities might "up sticks and leave" and the "problem could shift from one country to another". "We are playing with fire," the prime minister said.
Orbán also addressed further enlargement of the EU. It was unfair, he said, that Croatia, a country which had performed better during the past few years than some EU members including Hungary, was still not part of the community. He said Croatia's integration process should be concluded during the Hungarian presidency. Bulgaria and Romania are prepared to join the EU's Schengen zone, Orbán said, assuring them of his full support.


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