Gulyas pays tribute to late PM Antall

At the conference held in Parliament, Gulyas referred to Antall as a “selfless statesman” for whom “service was more important than his own life”.

Antall had a significant role in ensuring that “the democratic transition did not involve compromises or bloodshed”, and his efforts contributed to “Hungary achieving full freedom”, Gulyas said.

Antall and his government were instrumental in restoring Hungary’s sovereignty by pulling out of the Warsaw Pact and Comecon, while they “defined the cornerstones of Hungary’s policy embracing all Hungarians . taking constitutional responsibility for ethnic Hungarians and making Europe recognise ethnic minority rights as human rights,” Gulyas said.

The Antall government also paved the way for Hungary’s European Union and NATO integration, Gulyas said.

“As Europe looks today, we have reason to be sad, yet there is no alternative to institutionalised European cooperation; it’s true, however, that that option appeared more attractive in Antall’s time,” he added.