Kelemen Hunor, at EPP Congress in Helsinki: We want strong Europe, developed Hungarian community

Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) chairman Kelemen Hunor said at the European People's Party (EPP) Congress in Helsinki that a strong European Union is needed in a global competition because the member states can only be successful together, and the European Union "needs to be rethought and strengthened," informs an UDMR press release issued for AGERPRES on Wednesday.

"The EPP Congress is an excellent time to talk about the preparations for the European Parliament elections, but also to set out important details about the reforms that will mark the direction ahead for the European political formation," the UDMR leader said, according to the said release.

The continent is facing problems, and if it does not find the right answers for them, then it will certainly fail in the competition with the United States, Russia and China, Kelemen Hunor said.

The UDMR leader argues that "a correction is always necessary, and the European Union needs to be rethought and strengthened so that its citizens feel closer and safer."

"An equally important stake for the EPP Congress is who will be the candidate of the European People's Party for the European Commission presidency. UDMR supports Manfred Weber's candidacy, but that does not mean that the other candidate's vision, Alexander Stubb, on national minorities is not convincing. UDMR had a bilateral meeting with Stubb, at his request, on Wednesday. However, we believe that Manfred Weber is the politician representing the centre orientation of the European People's Party and is capable to unite all the EPP member organizations and member parties, and also has the ability to coordinate the European Union's reform," the press release reads.

According to the quoted source, the UDMR delegation met with Dara Murphy, EPP campaign leader, on Tuesday. During the meeting, issues related to the campaign for the European Parliament elections were addressed. UDMR representatives said that over the next 27 weeks, they will inform the Hungarian community about the importance and benefits of the European Union, but also about the problems faced by the EU and the solutions that need to be identified. The two sides expressed their conviction that, through a strong electoral campaign, the EPP will remain the strongest party in the European Parliament in the next term.

The EU delegation also met with Navracsics Tibor, the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports, with whom they analyzed the situation of the Hungarian education in Romania.

On Thursday, the UDMR delegation will meet Phil Hogan, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development. An important part of the Hungarian community in Transylvania lives in rural areas, and agricultural subsidies have meant a substantial additional income, which, in the opinion of Kelemen Hunor, should be further increased. UDMR representatives have also drawn attention to the fact that the alignment of the rural environment to the European standards and the modernization of agriculture are essential priorities for the Hungarians in Romania, the UDMR release also mentions. AGERPRES (RO - author: Antonia Nica, editor: Marius Fratila; EN - author: Bogdan Gabaroi; editor: Simona Iacob)