Viktor Orbán: If we don’t protect the borders, the unity of the internal EU market could collapse

“Since 2010, Hungary has come out of every crisis – the 2008 global financial crisis, the migration crisis, and the Covid crisis – stronger than it was before,” declared Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Monday in Berlin at a forum on Hungarian-German economic relations.

Orbán Viktor Berlinben Fotó: Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán

Before the forum, the Hungarian Prime Minister also met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He described this two-hour conversation as fruitful and stated that all difficult and complicated topics were discussed and that “everyone can be satisfied” with the results.

Viktor Orbán also reminded that he regularly visits the Chancellor and the German business community every two years.

In his presentation, the Prime Minister said that Hungary’s successful crisis management since 2010 was due to political reasons.

He recalled that during the global economic crisis, there was a debate in Europe over whether the crisis was a conjunctural or structural crisis. Most European countries viewed it as a conjunctural crisis, but as Viktor Orbán stated, he was never able to accept this interpretation.

In contrast, he saw it as a structural crisis, meaning that Europe will continue to lose out to Asia in terms of GDP, markets and technological competition until something changes.

His answer to this issue would be deep structural reform, and as he added, since 2010 the Hungarian economy has been reformed accordingly.

He emphasized that, “Hungary’s social policy is conservative, and reminiscent of the German Chancellor Helmut Kohl's era. The Hungarian government believes in a society based on employment, with the family at the center of it all. Hungary dedicates the highest share of their gross domestic product on family support and the government essentially finances families through employment. While in 2010, the employment rate was barely above 50 percent, it is around 75 percent today,”

- reminded the Hungarian Prime Minister.

He also expressed that the government is building on national pride and would like this to be based increasingly on performance.

There is no multiculturalism in Hungary

– he added.

According to Viktor Orbán, one of the foundations of the Hungarian economic model are the low tax rates. Hungary is the only place in the world with one rate for personal income tax, no inheritance taxes, and a low corporate tax rate of 9 percent. As far as equality is concerned in the Hungarian model, it must be ensured at the input stage, or in other words in education and the job search. On the output end however, “we are on the side of differences,” he pointed out.

The Prime Minister also said that if Hungary does not protect its borders, the unity of the European Union internal market could collapse. He emphasized that since Hungary is an open country, border protection should also be a part of the economic policy.

He announced that in the coming times, we are in need of political, energy, and physical security. While political security is guaranteed by the government, physical security will be ensured as Hungary has been and continues to be an island of peace. This will be reinforced by our energy security and the fact that Hungary has enough gas stored for the next six months.

Those who work with us will do well

– stated Viktor Orbán.

While speaking in front of the German business community, the Hungarian Prime Minister said that there are no surprises in the Hungarian economy: they can explain the exact medium and long-term plans that await various sectors. Several agreements with many German companies are underway in the areas of telecommunications, digitalization and green energy transition, mainly to join the Hungarian modernization programs.

Viktor Orbán believes that Hungarian-German cooperation is not founded in economics but rather culture. As he said, Hungarians have a “positive prejudice” towards Germany, in part for historical reasons and in part thanks to German cultural achievements.

No political campaign or occasional disagreement on economic issues can destroy the foundations of our bilateral cooperation

– he affirmed.

He also highlighted that 6,000 German companies manage accounts in Hungary while 300,000 families earn a living at jobs in German companies. Hungary is the world’s fifth most high-tech country and its export performance far exceeds what its population would justify. Aside from this, Hungary’s economy is in the top ten most open economies based on GDP and exports. Furthermore it is among the top ten most complex countries in regards to GDP complexity as it is built on many sectors.

Viktor Orbán said that the challenges our continent faces today include a looming recession due to, among other things, a sharp rise in energy prices.

The main question is: in the case of a European recession, will Hungary manage to get through it alone?

He believes that in order to achieve this, Hungary must put an emphasis on developments, investments, and technological innovation. He announced: thanks to these efforts, growth in the past year is 5-6 percent while it was 7 percent last year.