Hungary as a part of Europe and the European Union

4.1. Being local

4.2.2. Hungary as a part of Europe and the European Union

One of the questions the informants were asked was, if they thought there is something common all Europeans share, or in other words, common European identity. When examining such a question, it is important first at least to attempt to define “European”, however difficult it might

seem. Thus, this study does not attempt to define European”, but rather that examine some aspects and conceptions of how it can be understood.  

Throughout history, the concept of Europe has meant different things to people. The idea of what Europe is, and what it means, does not only consist of its physical boundaries, but is also related to cultural and political aspects associated with Europe.  For a long period, most of the last 2500 years, Europe has been a fragmented and divided area, where rulers had wars with each other for political and economic power. (Unwin 1998: 1). Thus, it is obvious, that Europe as an actual concept has not existed for a long time. Therefore, the idea of Europe as an area with age old common historical and cultural features, is nothing but recently constructed and imagined. During the medieval period, Christianity became a notable element of European con-sciousness, and the Renaissance has often been seen as a turning point, when it comes to for-mation of an idea of common European identity. (Unwin 1998: 1.) Religion, and Christianity specifically, was one of the recurring themes in my interviewee’s conception of what it means to be European. Therefore, it seems that Christianity still has at least somewhat value, when it comes to people's ideas of Europeanness.  

The question of the meaning of Hungary belonging to the EU is topical. As stated before, the relationship between Hungary and the EU is, and has always been complex. Most of the in-formants recognized, that the EU is beneficial for Hungary. However, they also noted the un-wanted effects the EU might bring to their country. To the interviewees, a major benefit they felt the EU brings to Hungary and them, was mobility.

As stated earlier in chapter 2, it has been said that Europe is being constructed through its re-gions and localities and vice versa. This process has been referred as “Europeanization of the local”, or in reverse, “localization of Europe”. The EU-based funding for cities and regions have opened new possibilities in local scale. It has also been argued that the EU-level projects in cities and regions have opened new opportunities to re-consider their identities. Based on the data of this thesis, I also argue, that the EU-based funding has created new possibilities for Hungarians to re-think their identities. Thus, in this chapter the informant’s conceptions of the EU are analyzed, and also, the way it shapes their identities as Hungarians and global citizens.

To some of the informants, being part of the EU meant being on the same side with other Eu-ropean countries, not against them. This is particularly interesting in the light of Hungary’s government’s actions, such as the referendum against the EU I mentioned earlier. Being part of

the EU could also mean an opposite for Hungarian history, where the country was under the Soviet rule. As Bogáta points out, she rather feels comfortable being part of the EU, than being part of the Russian Federation.

Umm, it’s…for me it’s a comforting thought, that we are in the EU, because well, I think it’s much better to be in the EU or than being out of it or being part of Russian Federation… anything else… so I’m not very much into these economic things and umm, I know that EU is not just fairytale and I think that I ‘m feeling good about thing that, Hungary’s hardships are kind of the same as the entire Europe’s hardships, and no different. Hungary is not an opponent of or an enemy of Western-Europe, that’s what the EU means to me. (Interview 1: Bogáta.)

To her, the alternative for the EU would be Russian Federation, and she prefers Hungary as a part of the EU. What she also stresses here, is that being part of the EU joins Hungary as a part of Western-Europe. For Bogáta, it is a comforting thought, that her home country is not facing its hardships alone, but as a part of a bigger union, consisting of Western countries. In Bogáta´s speech, it is visible, that region has gained more meaning than a nation. She feels now part of the region, Europe. Thus, her nationalism in this case can be argues to be new type of regional nationalism, or even “Europeanization”. Another aspect, that is apparent in her statement, is an aspect brought up by several informants. Many of them were hesitant to give an opinion about Hungary belonging to the EU, since they felt that they were not that educated in politics or did not perceive themselves as political individuals.

They found this question almost as difficult as the question about who can be considered as a Hungarian. However, the interviewees were able to approach the question about the EU, when I told them, that my aim is to examine, what it means for them personally, not in general.

F: No, omasta mielestä, no en ole niin kuin poliittinen…

E: Niin, ei tietenkään, mutta että…

F: Mä en, en ole hyvä näissä asioissa, mutta ehkä… niin kuin me ollaan niin kuin esimerkiksi matkusta-minen on vapaan kaltainen EU-maissa…

E: Niin, liikkuvuus?

F: Joo, liikkuvuus. Mun mielestä, musta se on hyvä, koska sulla on sellainen tunne, että sä kuulut samaan manneriin (mantereeseen). (Interview 2: Fruszina.)

(F: Well, in my own opinion… well, I am not like political…

E: Yes, of course not, but that…

F: I am, I am not good in these things, but maybe… so that we are like, so for example, travelling is kind of free in EU-countries…

51 E: So, mobility?

F: Yes, mobility, and. In my opinion, it is good, because you feel like you belong into a same continent.)

Fruszina emphasizes, how she does not feel that she is eligible to comment on the EU-question, since she does not perceive herself as a political person. Thus, she is a bit hesitant at first to give an opinion, but when she is given a chance to think about the EU in her own terms, she brought up mobility as an important factor. She exclaims, that being able to travel at least some-what freely, creates a feeling of belonging together. Thus, for Fruszina, Hungary’s EU mem-bership signifies unity, as it does for Bogáta.

I think it’s a good thing, because without the EU, we would die, because our economy is not that strong, but of course it has backsides of the common market, and the regulations, but I think it’s a good idea, so I don’t know, why government is just against the EU, but they have to realize, that without the EU we would be flushed down the toilet. (Interview 6: Péter.)

The hardships of the EU were noticed by the informants. Although they did not perceive them-selves as experts in this issue, they noted that the EU has difficulties, and the complex relation-ship between the EU and Hungary. As an example, Renata points out, that she is aware of the problems. She also points out, that she considers herself by no means as an expert, and thus she will not make such a strong claim, that the EU, or Hungary’s EU-membership would be falling apart. However, she notes, that there are plenty of problems in Hungary´s EU-relationship. Re-nata perceived her home country’s actions problematic, since due to them, the EU is not able to fulfill its purposes.

Yes, we, it’s… I won’t say it’s crumbling, because I don’t know that much about it, but umm, in many aspects it can’t do the things it wants. So, we have a lot of problems in Hungary that, that are… we do a lot of things that are forbidden, but the EU can’t do much about that, so are political leaders do a lot of things that… a lot of politicians outlands frown upon, but they can’t do anything about it, just write articles, and that’s it. (Interview 3: Renáta.)

Negative aspects related to the EU were mostly related to economic factors. Although many of the informants perceived the EU as a useful asset for Hungary economically, there were also voices of criticism. One informant viewed the EU as a part of globalization, and globalization to her was a negative thing, since she thought, that due to the EU, many countries, also Hungary, were losing their own cultural features.

First of all, I’m really against globalization, a really anti-globalization person, so I, I really, I prefer the idea to preserve our national heritage, and preserve our traditions, and everything which is connection with Hungary. For example, riding horses, or singing folk songs or I don’t know, there are so many different things about this, and nowadays, I have the feeling, that we are little by little getting rid of it.

Interview 8: Zsófia.)

Zsófia views the EU as a part of globalization, and globalization as an unpleasant development.

For her, being part of the EU means that Hungary must lose its own features, and that Hungary has gone along with this development. However, she admits later in our discussion that there are positive outcomes of Hungary’s EU-membership.

Oh, that’s very interesting too. Umm, I think Hungary is like a weak link in the EU chain, so I think it’s really good for us, that we get a lot of financial and military support, but I don’t think that we can support the EU back, so I think we just get that, we don’t really, we can’t really give anything. Unless our minds.

(Interview 8: Zsófia.)

Although she is anti-globalization, she admits, that the EU is beneficial for Hungary due to the economic and military support. However, she feels that the benefit is one sided, and Hungary cannot give much in return.

Gergő was also concerned, that the purpose of the EU is to homogenize cultures. He acknowl-edges that there are good aspects that Hungary’s EU-membership brings, such as mobility, which he has found useful in his own everyday life. However, he is worried that the EU’s aim is to efface its member countries own cultural features, and thus build a common, European identity.

G: Yeah mobility is good, very nice I think, and that you don’t have to get a pass to got to neighboring countries… but I feel… sorry, I see, that the EU is more about to homogenize the Europe, and that in my sense of… in my point of view that is more like to erase cultures, and form a global thing, which for me is not good, because I’m used to having different cultures.

E: So, do you think there is something like, naturally common between these, or?

G: Of course, there are naturally common things, but they want to erase the differences, and make every-thing homogene or make everyevery-thing the same. (Interview 5: Gergő.)

He acknowledges that there are some common features that European countries share naturally, a question I will examine later in this chapter, but is concerned that Hungary’s EU-membership could lead into losing their own culture.

Inequality inside of the EU was also brought up by the informants. Although they did mostly perceive the EU as mandatory for Hungary’s economic survival, some of them felt that Hungary was not treated in the same manner as some other EU-countries, especially Western European countries. This unequal feeling resulted as an uncomfortable feeling about being part of the EU.

As Gergő exclaims, he feels that Hungary, and other former communist countries, are in a dif-ferent position inside of the EU, than their Western EU partner countries.

Well… I do not really feel comfortable in the EU, because I feel like there are equals and more equals inside the EU, and when it comes to Hungary, I feel like we are not as.... treated the same way as Western

European countries for example, but I feel the same when it comes to Slovakia, when it comes to Poland, when it comes to Estonia, and all this like post-communist countries---. (Interview 5: Gergő,)

Gergő feels uncomfortable in the EU, since according to him, Hungary is less equal, and there-fore treated differently than Western European countries. He feels, that since Hungary is a post- communist country, it is treated unfairly by the EU. Gergő also makes a connection with other post-communist countries, such as Poland and Slovakia, which are, as mentioned before, facing similar political situations, as Hungary.

The EU, and its legislations, were also at the times seen as a limiting thing. As Flóra here ex-claims, the problematic nature of the relationship between the EU and Hungary, could likely be a result of colliding opinions of legislations, especially one’s considering migration. She, as many others, was however also very hesitant to give her opinion about the situation, since she did not follow political discussion, and therefore did not feel that she had enough knowledge about the issue to make a statement.

As mentioned before, although the informants did recognize the positive effects of the EU, and that it was even vital for their country to stay in it, sometimes it was seen as a limiting thing.

As Flóra points out, it can cause problems, when Hungary is expected to modify its laws due to the membership of the EU. However, she points out, that this is not necessarily her own opinion, but that she has recognized such a discourse.

Niin kuin ei se pitäisi olla tärkeää, mutta luulen, että jotkut ajattelevat, että niin kuin se, jotkut unkarilaiset, että se on rajoittava asia, koska se on niin kuin, pitää sopia yhteen, niin kuin lakien pitää sopia yhteen.

Tai siis tuntuu esimerkiksi siltä, että esimerkiksi se turvapaikanhakijoiden tapauksessakin niin kuin monet eurooppalaisetkin maat ajattelevat muulla tavalla, kuin Unkari. Joo siis, en tiedä, mä en seuraa sitä kes-kustelua, että miten se puhutaan, mutta siis tuntuu siltä, että no unkarilaiset, tai ei välttämättä unkarilaiset, mutta Unkarin hallinto suhtautuu siihen asiaan muulla tavalla. (Interview 10: Flóra.)

(Well, it should not be important, but I guess that some people think, that it, some Hungarians, that it is a limiting thing, because it is like, you must fit together, the laws must fit together. Or it feels for example like, that in the case of asylum seekers that many European countries think different than Hungary does.

Yes, I do not know, I do not follow that discussion, that how it is discussed, but it feels like that Hungar-ians, well, not necessarily HungarHungar-ians, but Hungarian government reacts to this issue differently.)

The interviewees were also questioned, if they considered there to be some common values or features that unite Europe as a continent. These values did not necessarily have to be linked to the EU, but also to whole European culture. Common things that the informants mentioned, were classical culture, some values and religion. Katalyn explains, how she has this conception of the continuum in the back of her mind, and that European countries share some common values, since the countries are geographically close. Due to this geographical fact, Europe has

some common values. Katalyn mentions mobility as one value, that could be common also for the whole Europe, not just the EU.

But in my back, I imagine there is like a continuum, niin kuin jatkumo, between Europe and between Asia and between other countries, so there are common values, but like on the continuum, everywhere, but in Europe, there are some common values, because we live next to each other we are connected.

E: Yeah, well, can you think of something, well you can only think in terms of the EU, like what do EU countries share, like values, or…

K: Or maybe in terms of Europe. I can’t avoid mentioning religion, that is one thing, although then the US belongs to us in in a way and Australia so… maybe Christianity might be one thing also culturally, and of course the influence of English, I mean the Anglo-Saxon words, but that’s not only in Europe again…

E: Maybe the mobility?

K: Yeah, the mobility, free moving.(Interview 7: Katalyn.)

She mentions religion as one uniting element, but also pays attention to the influence of English language. Here it is again evident that my informants are linguistics. Classical culture was also mentioned in the interviews. As an example, for Eszter, classical European culture is the main defining element defining Europe as a continent.

Vaan, että niin, jos mä ajattelen eurooppalaisuutta, sitten ensin tulee mieleeni tämä klassinen kulttuuri, joka meillä on, eli se vanha italialainen, ranskalainen kulttuuri, joka yhdistää meitä, tai joo, mutta Euroo-pan Unionin tasolla, en osaisi sanoa---. (Interview 9: Eszter.)

(So, that if I think about Europeanness, this classical culture that we have, is a first thing that comes in to my mind, so this old Italian, French culture, that unites us, or yes, but in the level of European Union, I could not tell---.

Flóra emphasized common values that Europe and Europeans share. For her, the uniting ele-ments are human rights and equality. In her mind, European countries have their own system, and perhaps better situation considering human rights, when comparing to other countries. She does admit however, that there are differences between European countries, and that no country is without problems. Nevertheless, human rights are a value she sees as an uniting element of Europe as a continent.

F: Joo no siis, niin kuin esimerkiksi se on ongelma, että niin kuin muut kulttuuriset, niin kuin jotka eivät ole Euroopasta, eivät käsittele naisia niin kuin samalla tasolla, kuin miehiä, joo ja sitten tietysti niin kuin on tasa-arvo ongelmia Unkarissakin, ja sanotaan, että Suomessakin, mutta mun mielestä siellä on paljon parempi tilanne, kuin monessa muussa maassa. Ja joo, siis elikkä se on suuri ero, että miksi nainen ei ole tasa-arvoinen kuin mies.

E: Että ehkä tällaiset niin kuin, ihmisoikeus tai tasa-arvo jutut on semmoisia niin kuin eurooppalaisen, niin kuin tavallaan yhdistäviä jollain tasolla?

F: Joo, kyllä, ja siis vaikea sanoa koska mä en tunne niin kuin muita kulttuureja niin hyvin. Siis varmasti niilläkin on oma järjestys, mutta kyllä siis, se tuntuu siltä, että ihmisoikeuksia on enemmän huomioon otettuja Euroopassa, kuin muualla. (Interview 10: Flóra.)

(F: Well, for example, it is a problem, that people from other cultures, that are not from Europe, they do not treat women equal with men, yes of course there are equality problems in Hungary, and it is said that also in Finland, but I think in there the situation is much better than in many other countries. And yes, so

In document "Not quite east, not quite west" Identity conceptions of Hungarian young adults (sivua 53-60)