There is no such thing as a veto, the EU’s basic treaty does not recognize this concept, PM Viktor Orban emphasized in his regular radio interview this morning. Speaking to Hungary’s public Kossuth Radio, Hungary's prime minister admitted that it is still too early to discuss philosophical issues, but that it is necessary to talk about them. He said the only scenario is that certain decisions require the agreement of all member states. Among them, there will be some that Hungary does not support, and one of these is Ukraine’s EU accession.
The admission of Ukraine as a candidate country is not in Hungary’s national interest, so this issue will not be put on the agenda, Mr Orban confirmed. He said the way to preserve the EU’s unity is to avoide putting divisive issues on the agenda in the first place.
There are many contentious issues regarding Ukraine
Hungary’s prime minister described Ukraine’s EU accession as ill-prepared. The Commission must understand that it is its fault, so it should only revisit this issue once it has discussed it with the member states.
We are not against the decisions, we just disagree with the other member states,
– PM Orban said, in connection with his letter to Charles Michel. "This issue bears relevance in terms national independence," he added.
– If we agree, then we’ll have a common position in the EU. If we don’t, we don’t. We must not be forced into a state where we feel remorse because we disagree on something, Mr Orban said.
PM Orban highlighted that the size of Ukraine’s territory at the moment is unspecified, adding that there are no studies on the inclusion of Ukraine’s agriculture either, and that we also don’t know the exact size of the country’s population is.
Ukrainian agriculture would destroy Hungary’s agriculture, according to Hungarian farmers, PM Orban said, adding that he had also already discussed this issue with farmers’ representatives.
– We also have no information on how much money Ukraine would receive, from where and from whom, Mr Orban stressed. So long as there questions are unanswered, there is no rationale in initiating accession talks. He recalled that the EU had already made this mistake once, with Türkiye, which is also a candidate country, but no one knows how to bring it closer to the EU.
The other controversial issue regarding Ukraine is funding. – Had we spent the amounts that we gave to Ukraine on European development projects, European economies would have done better, Mr Orban said.
Viktor Orban’s position remains unchanged: we need a ceasefire instead of war and, instead of spending money on war, we should be spending it on a ceasefire. I support the establishment of a fund within the EU, into which we can put money separately, Mr Orban said, pointing out that the bloc has so far we been allocating money to Ukraine from its coffers , overstretching its budget.
– The EU budget should be amended because the money has run out. Hungary’s position is that if we want to give money to Ukraine, we should do so separately, as individual member states, and not by hiding behind the EU. This is why consultation is a good thing, because everyone can decide on their own whether it is acceptable, or not.
Protecting our sovereignty: Everyone is needed!
Speaking about sovereignty, PM Orban explained that were are in a difficult battle where support from everyone is needed. We need people to respond to the consultation questionnaires, to devote this much to their country.
– Our history has taught us two great lessons. The first is that we have always been surrounded by larger empires. We always chose a tactic that resulted in everyone’s discontent, but our gameplan is to be there at the funeral of every big empire, like we have been, so far.
– The other lesson is that we have proven over a thousand and one hundred years how to organize this territory according to our culture, and the Hungarian mindset. Hungarians possess the ability to create a state, and live in it. There are always those who want to sell part of the homeland for money. You don't have to look far back in our history to stumble on cases of sovereignty violation – PM Orban said.
The country’s interest is to have clear and unambiguous rules, he said, adding that the national parliament must now discuss and adopt legislation designed to protect sovereignty.
This year was the most dangerous
According to PM Orban, the economy is a complex "web of tissues," and in 2023 Hungarian people worked to make sure that the situation would not get worse.
In the year ahead, we will work to make it better.
Raising the minimum wage is always good news, said Mr Orban, who also indicated that guaranteed wage rates in Hungary are not determined by the government.The government simply accepts the agreement struck between employers and employees.
– As of today, higher wages will come into effect, we have extended our state-sponsored home creation scheme (csok), and we’ve increased the so-called baby loan. Also, the number of people under forty who own their own home has reached seventy-five percent. In January, we will implement another 6% increase in pensions – PM Orban said.
In order to live better, we must engage in trade with everyone
– After its departure from the Soviet bloc, Hungary has become part of the Western world over the last 20 to 30 years, PM Orban explained. Much of Hungary’s diplomatic effort has focused on achieving this purpose, but we are beyond that, and our place is clear.
– Now we must essentially adopt an economy-based approach, and we must trade with all the countries of the world because our market is small. If a country of ten million people wants to do better, it must sell its products all across the globe and, to do that, it must stay connected.
Any closure or the formation of blocks goes against our interests. Hungary is a country of 10 million. Were we a market boasting 100 million people, perhaps we could afford to cut ourselves off because we would still have enough people, and the size of our economy would be big enough to enable us to produce enough wealth and distribute it among our own people.
"As a country of ten million, if we want to maintain or even improve our current living standards and live better, we must be able to sell our products all over the world," Mr. Orban said, assessing the situation. "Our economy is not the Hungarian economy, but the whole world," he opined.
– Currently, the most rapidly developing segment of the world is in the East, and decisions must be made on this basis," Mr. Orban added. "I'm trying to expand the economic horizon before the Hungarian players," the prime minister said in conclusion.
Cover photo: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban during interview in Kossuth Radio’s studio
