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On August 28th 2012, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary to Prof. Dr Bernhard Vogel, former Minister-President of Germany’s Rhein-Pfalz and Thuringen and Honorary Chairman of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. After the ceremony, the German politician delivered a speech at the Andrássy University to the event “Germany, Hungary and Europe”. In recognition of his special contributions to German-Hungarian relations, especially during the initial period of transition, and in recognition of his deep friendship with former Prime Minister József Antall (who died in 1993), Prof. Vogel was awarded the Antall Memorial Medal by the Antall Knowledge Centre at the Corvinus University of Budapest, which was presented to him in the presence of university leaders by Mr Antall’s widow, Mrs Klára Antall. In recognition of his extraordinary efforts towards Hungarian integration, the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary was awaded to Prof. Vogel by the Hungarian Head of State. The ceremony was held in the Parliament Building, where the Minister of Human Resources, Zoltán Balog, said that through this award Hungary recognised Vogel’s multi-faceted work for Hungary and in cultivating German-Hungarian relations through the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. After receiving his award, Prof. Vogel emphasised in his speech that wherever he goes, he will draw attention to Hungary, a ‘pearl’ amongst European nations. His people would never forget what Hungary did for Germany in 1989 and the following years. The closing of the programme was held at the Andrássy University where the Honorary Chairman delivered a speech in front of more than
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200 guests with the topic “Germany, Hungary and Europe”. Professor Vogel described the role of Hungary in the transition to democracy and referred to Hungary’s roots as a deeply European country. He called Europe a synonym for peace and emphasised that European countries’ freedom depends on their joint efforts in responding to global challenges. Vogel added that Germany is willing to help Hungary and Central Europe, and that in the future every European country had to function in the spirit of subsidiarity and solidarity. He claimed that everyone has their own job but must not hesitate to help one another and work for Europe, and that we must have a clear idea of where we have come from and where we are going before we will be able to make the right decisions. During this event, Minister Balog, who is also President of the Foundation for a Civic Hungary, also addressed the audience. He emphasised that the biggest problems of Europe are indebtedness and competitiveness. In this context he also said that Hungary has performed well, reducing the budget deficit whilst implementing structural changes. Those measures that Hungary used as an answer to European challenges are being followed by an increasing number of European countries. Mr Balog said
the democratic deficit should be addressed by increasing the legitimacy of EU institutions, rather than falling back on the legitimacy of the member states, and that the Union should make an effort to maintain its citizens’ confidence in Brussels. He welcomed the fact that attention has now turned away from ideological debates towards European questions and economic recovery. In his closing remarks he also reiterated the unswerving commitment of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) to Hungary. Professor Vogel also announced that the Head of the KAS office in Hungary will be Frank Spengler, who personally requested to continue his work in the country. After a reflection on his six years of activity in Hungary, minister ret. and outgoing KAS representative Hans Kaiser received a statue in recognition for his work from Zoltán Balog in the name of the Foundation for a Civic Hungary. The closing remarks were held by the incoming resident representative, Frank Spengler. We, the European Democrat Students, would hereby like to thank Mr Kaiser and the KAS for their support in the past and wish Mr Spengler every success in his future work. EDS was represented at this event by Vice-Chairman Anna Tamási.
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