Uhrik: CoFoE "Tailor-made" for NGO Representatives Only
Bratislava, December 20 (TASR) – The Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) has been “tailor-made” just for representatives of NGOs who pretend to be spokespersons for all Europeans, calling for more multiculturalism, rainbow pride marches, the so-called green agenda and LGBT ideology, Slovak MEP Milan Uhrik has told TASR.
“The selection of speakers and organisations has already been criticised by representatives of the conservative spectrum as biased and monochromatic. I don’t expect any real conservatives and patriots to take part at this conference, and if they do, it will be only supernumeraries,” said the Independent MEP and chairman of the Slovak extra-parliamentary far-right Republic party.
The EU has invited hundreds of randomly selected EU citizens to the seat of the European Parliament as part of the CoFoE to express in person their opinions in four citizens’ panels focused on various issues. Each of them is being attended by some 200 citizens. The European Commission points out that the participants come from all 27 member states, reflecting the demographic and social diversity of the EU, and at least one third of the participants in each panel are under the age of 25.
Uhrik also criticises the fact that the discussions of individual working groups of these citizens’ panels won’t be broadcast live. The declared aim is to protect the freedom of the participants to discuss and propose recommendations. “However, I personally think that group discussions won’t be broadcast live only because a different opinion might be expressed during them,” said Uhrik.
“It would be nice to see the Union actually implementing the principle of freedom of expression and proportionality of space for different views by giving not only supporters of a global state, global corporations and global management a chance to speak, but also those who love their nation, traditions and culture,” said Uhrik when asked where he sees room for improvement within the CoFoE.
The MEP expects the CoFoE’s conclusions and recommendations to have an impact on the EU’s future direction, as “almost only people with a similar mindset as European commissioners are being invited to the Conference.”
Uhrik also expects most Slovak MEPs to “praise the imaginary transparency and dialogue [of the CoFoE], but it will be more because they’ve already exchanged their service to Slovakia for service to the European Union.”
