American-Hungarian financier Mr George Soros said today the European Union was out of touch with its citizens - but was still the only option for candidates like Hungary.
The financier who is one of the backers of the Valentia consortium seeking to buy Eircomsaid in Budapest today: "The problem is the EU has a democratic deficiency which even the European parliament cannot fix."
Though he called the 15-nation body "cumbersome" and railed against its policy-making, Mr Soros said it was economically important forformer communist EU candidates like Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic to join the grouping.
Mr Soros said one of the reasons Ireland rejected the Nice Treaty in a referendum earlier this month was over fears aid to EU states would dwindle after eastern candidates joined.
In Hungary a serious task was keeping its borders to the east with Ukraine and Romania secure after accession, and, at the same time, helping those countries prepare for eventual EU entry.
"It's extremely important that countries just beyond the borders develop in the direction where they can eventually join the EU," Mr Soros said."Hungary must play an important role in doing this," he added.