Speaking after a meeting of member states’ parliamentary foreign policy committees, Németh said the EU should pursue a “louder, clearer and bolder foreign policy”, but without violating the sovereignty of member states or sowing further discord among them. The EU’s foreign policy should not be burdened by contentious issues such as the acceptance of the “quota law”, he said, calling compromise-based foreign policy decision making a great virtue of the European Union.
A strong leadership would be able to represent and enforce those compromise-based decisions effectively in the international arena, he said. European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker’s statement that no enlargement could be expected during his five-year tenure “had carried a negative message”, he said. The position that the EU should be reformed comprehensively before further states can join the bloc is “dangerous” as it fails to calculate with the possibility of conflicts erupting in the Western Balkans, he said. The enlargement process can also add value to, and should go hand in hand with, the reforms, Németh said.