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Sarkozy in Hungary to mend ties with central Europe
 French President Nicolas Sarkozy, paying a visit to his ancestral homeland of Hungary, Friday sought to improve ties with central Europe damaged in a row in 2003 over the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. "The European Union is not made up of small and big countries, of ones that have the right to speak and others that have the right to keep quiet. There is equality in rights and responsibilities," Sarkozy told reporters after meeting with Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom. Sarkozy's comments referred back to controversial remarks made by his predecessor, Jacques Chirac, who in 2003 said countries of the former Soviet bloc, now part of the EU, had "missed a good opportunity to keep quiet" when they lined up to support the U.S. attack. Those remarks caused a cold spell in relations between the newly joined EU countries and France. Sarkozy said Hungary was a "special country" for him because he is the son of a Hungarian immigrant. Sarkozy's father Pal left Hungary after World War II. "For me Hungary is a special country because of my paternal family and also because of the key role [Hungary] played in the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989," Sarkozy said. Sarkozy's trip is focused on the future of the European Union, ahead of France taking over the EU presidency in the second half of 2008. Both France and Hungary are keen on securing a deal on a new EU treaty, aimed at streamlining the way the 27-member bloc works. The vast reform treaty is meant to replace the now-defunct constitution, which was voted down by French and Dutch voters in 2005 referenda. A EU summit on the treaty will be held in Portugal next month. Sarkozy is scheduled to give a speech in parliament after meeting socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany. The French leader will meet with the main right-wing opposition party leader, Viktor Orban, and attend the wreath-laying ceremony in memory of the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising. Although he speaks no Hungarian and has had little contact with the country, many here are proud that the son of a Hungarian immigrant made it all the way to the Elysee Palace, the seat of the French presidency. While Sarkozy himself emphasized his immigrant origins during the presidential campaign saying it was his work ethic that permitted him to rise to the pinnacle of French politics he is reportedly not keen on exhibiting his Hungarian roots. French daily Le Figaro, citing an unnamed Hungarian diplomat, reported Friday that Sarkozy had insisted that there be no special focus on his Hungarian origins during his visit to Budapest. During a trip in 2004 to Budapest when he was economy minister, Sarkozy was presented with archives of his family history, translated in French, which he left in his hotel room, according to Le Figaro. Posted by: lotp 2007-09-16 |
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