madam president this is a time when we should be discussing issues of economic governance employment rights and the environment all high on our agenda a time when we should be celebrating the fantastic achievement of hungary which for the first time has the honour of the presidency and it saddens me that the hungarian people who stood up against oppression and fought for so long for democracy are now having that democracy challenged by the new media laws in hungary and the protectionist policies used to attack foreign companies casting a shadow on what should be a proud period for the hungarian people
this is a critical time for our citizens and we must carry on with our programme of reform
however we must also be vigilant to ensure that europe does not slip back into the dark days of the past
we must continue to oppose and highlight any forms of state censorship and protectionist policies
we must reach out to the hungarian people but our future democracy cannot be compromised
