The Brussels Office of Antall József Knowledge Centre represent the political, economic, and cultural philosophy of József Antall (1939 – 1993), Hungary’s first democratically-elected Prime Minister after the fall of Communism, who served from 1990 to 1993. During his tenure, Hungary went through a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy. PM Antall was the initiator of the Visegrád Cooperation together with Presidents Havel and Wałęsa in 1991. As soon as Hungary regained its full sovereignty, he started the EU accession talks. On 16 December 1991, he signed the Association Agreements of European Communities. On 18 July 1990, he visited for the first time the NATO Headquarters in Brussels. With this visit he paved the way for Hungary’s full membership in NATO.

The Brussels Office of the Antall József Knowledge Centre is dedicated to following in the footsteps of PM József Antall, whose vision of Hungary and its place in Europe and the wider world made him a remarkable statesman. Our aims include the preservation of his pro-European and pro-Transatlantic legacy, his true belief in participatory democracy and freedom, and his commitment to safeguarding the rights of citizens, especially the liberty of citizens. PM Antall was a conservative, Christian democratic Hungarian statesman who not only talked about but also fought for human rights. He believed in further enlargement and a stable neighbourhood policy in Europe.

The Brussels Office of the Antall József Knowledge Centre is dedicated to preserving the Antall heritage, and believes that it is important to learn the lessons from history and to promote future progress.