PM Orban to fight for a pro-peace position in Brussels

The leaders of EU member states will meet again in Brussels, as the two-day summit of the European Council - to be attended by Hungarian PM Viktor Orban - will commence in the Belgian capital on Thursday. The agenda will be quite diverse, with illegal migration among the key issues, but the EU funds will most certainly be the hottest topic of discussion. Brussels is continuing to withhold funds from Hungary, while it is seeking new contributions from member states to support Ukraine and to increase the salaries of European Commissioners.

Brüsszel, 2023. március 24. A Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda által közreadott képen Orbán Viktor kormányfõ érkezik az Európai Unió kétnapos brüsszeli csúcstalálkozójának második napi ülésére 2023. március 24-én. MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán Fotó: Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán

– The ideas contained in the EU's budget proposal are frivolous and would put Hungary in an even more disadvantageous position, the state secretary for international relations at the Prime Minister's cabinet office said in a video interview published on Wednesday on the Pestisracok.hu portal. "We have been enjoying injustice for eleven years now," as they single out certain countries without any objective basis, Zoltan Kovacs said. We are victims of systematic abuse. Since the beginning of the migration crisis in 2015, Hungary has spent more than HUF 600 billion (€1.62 bn) on border protection, and  "not a single penny has been given to us" for safeguarding not just our own, but also Europe's borders, he added.

❗️The EU budget proposal unfairly disadvantages Hungary with frivolous suggestions, and we've been unjustly targeted for 11 years without valid reasons already.
❗️The rule of law condition is mere political punishment as Hungary has used EU funds effectively, but ideological… pic.twitter.com/Ohlto7sJD9

— Zoltan Kovacs (@zoltanspox) June 28, 2023

Mr Kovacs pointed out that now, by bypassing a previous decision by the Council of heads of state and government, they have tabled a proposal that will put Hungary in an even more disadvantageous position by imposing mandatory quotas and registration obligations. In the meantime, they are withholding resources that would be of benefit to the country, the state secretary said, adding that this is not a gift or a donation, but compensation in the common market of European states.

We consider the suggestion to be frivolous, he said, stressing that Brussels has not accounted for the funds that it had spent, neither for precisely what these amounts have been spent on, nor for what Hungary would be entitled to. Where is the money? - asked Zoltan Kovacs, who argued that Brussels are asking for a large amount of new money only deepens the suspicion that this amount is no longer there, as it has already been spent.

More money for Ukraine! But from where?

The state secretary spoke about EU funds in the context of the EU leaders' two-day summit kicking off in Brussels on Thursday, where the issue of providing new aid to Ukraine will likely feature on the agenda. Contrary to Hungary's pro-peace stance, Brussels would continue to fund the war, although it is not yet clear where the EU monies meant for Ukraine would be taken from. While the sums owed to Hungary and Poland from a previous joint borrowing are being withheld, Brussels wants to help Kyiv with more money on top of the €72 billion in suuport that it has already provided.

Last time there was talk of a €50-billion grant, but in order to make this happen, the EU is demanding additional funds from member states to cover the deficit in the EU budget caused by rising interest rates, and to help boost the salaries of European Commissioners.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban held talks with Charles Michel and the heads of government of Croatia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Sweden ahead of the summit. At the meeting, Hungary's premier pointed out, that

in its current form, the European Commission's proposal for amending the EU budget is frivolous and unfit for debate.

 He added that the proposal would also help to bloat the Brussels bureaucracy. Earlier, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto also pointed out that instead of Europe joining the pro-peace stance advocated by the rest of the world, EU countries are competing with the US in supplying weapons to Kyiv.

Member states urge a change of direction in migration policy

The issue of mass illegal migration will also be discussed in Brussels. The negotiations on the topic were prepared on Tuesday by the member states' EU affairs ministers at their meeting in Luxembourg. Austrian EU Affairs Minister Karoline Edtstadler told a press briefing that

in order to function as a European Union, we need a change of direction in migration policy.

The Austrian minister said migration would be a major challenge for the EU in the coming years and decades, as shown by the Greek migrant boat tragedy two weeks ago, where seventy-nine migrants drowned and hundreds more went missing after their vessel capsized and sank off the south-west coast of Greece. In his speech, Ms Edstadler also touched on the issue of EU enlargement, saying Ukraine should be kept informed about how accession negotiations are progressing. However, she criticized Brussels for the unequal treatment of the Western Balkan states.

The Western Balkan countries also deserve to receive up to date information regarding their path towards the European Union,

– the minister added.

The position of Hungary and the Visegrad Four is clear on the issue. Speaking at the V4 summit in Bratislava on Monday, PM Orban underlined that if someone files an application for entry to the EU, that person must remain physically outside the EU's borders until his or her application is evaluated. 

While Brussels is unwilling to implement such a measure, it also intends to spend a ridiculous amount of money on the fight against migration, PM Orban said. Nevertheless, tackling illegal immigration is a pressing issue, especially for Italy, whose shores have seen 305% more arrivals in the first three months of 2023 than during the same period last year. We only have to recall the situation unfolding at the Serbia-Hungary border, where atrocities among migrants are ongoing, sometimes to the point of violence, making locals living in and around the border towns feel generally unsafe.

Cover photo: Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives for the second day of the two-day European Union summit in Brussels, on 24 March, 2023 (Photo: MTI/Prime Minister's Press Office/Zoltan Fischer)