PM Orban: Decline in Competitiveness Europe’s Biggest Problem

Hungary's prime minister was received in Rome by Giorgia Meloni, his Italian counterpart.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at a press conference following their meeting at the Italian prime minister's office in the Chigi Palace in Rome on June 24, 2024 (Photo: MTI/Hungarian PM's Press Office/Zoltan Fischer)

Italian Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni received Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Rome on Monday. Following the meeting of the two heads of government, Viktor Orban told a joint press conference that with Hungary taking over the rotating presidency of the European Council on July 1, he held talks in Berlin on Wednesday, he has come to Rome and will pay a visit in Paris next Wednesday in order to ensure the support of the major European nations. He stressed that during the talks they did not discuss party politics, adding that those issues were concluded in Brussels on Monday.

We pursue national policies, we protect our own interests, and therefore we cannot join a parliamentary group that includes an anti-Hungarian Romanian party,

Hungary's prime minister said.

Photo: Hungarian PM's Press Office/Zoltan Fischer

In alliance with the right wing

PM Orban, however, noted that 

he and Meloni agreed they both remain committed to the cooperation of right-wing parties, even if they do not sit in the same parliamentary group.

According to the Hungarian state new agency MTI, on the subject of how EU posts are assigned, PM Orban said the heads of EU institutions should not be selected on a party political basis, adding that he would not back the relevant "party agreement". As the longest-serving prime minister in the EU, Orban said he saw what went wrong and when, and he believed that root of the European problems is that after the 2014 EP elections, the European Commission's then president wanted to turn the then politically-neutral body into a political player. "This process has been ongoing ever since, causing more and more problems," he emphasized.

In his view, what is now underway with three parties, as if in a coalition, dividing the most important European posts among themselves is contrary to the philosophy of inclusivity, and puts EU institutions on a party political basis. "As the consequence of this, there will be a majority and a minority, a government and an opposition," MTI quoted Viktor Orban as saying. In his view, this is not what the EU ideal rests on, but inclusion.

"Everyone should be included; no country should feel they are in a minority or opposition,” he said, pointing out that "this is the wrong path, both philosophically and strategically, which the EU should not follow".

Economic drive

PM Orban highlighted that economic ties between the two countries have strengthened, with trade increasing fourfold in the past decade. He welcomed that six hundred Italian companies currently employ twenty thousand people in Hungary. Hungary and Italy have recently cooperated in developing the Triest port and a logistics project in Gorond in Ukraine. He added that cooperation should be broadened to include energy.

At the press briefing, Viktor Orban said that Europe’s biggest problem now is its decline in competitiveness, and Hungary’s EU rotating presidency would put a European competitiveness pact centre stage.

"Hungary and Italy have a common interest in a competitive European economy," he said, adding that hundreds of thousands of jobs may be lost in the next decade if no competitiveness pact is concluded, according to MTI. Touching on the issue of EU enlargement, PM Orban emphasized that he considers the integration of the Balkan countries important, while calling it unacceptable that they have been waiting  for accession for fifteen years.

Photo: Hungarian PM's Press Office/Zoltan Fischer

Fighting migration

During their meeting, Orban and Meloni also discussed the issue of illegal migration. Although Italy is closer to African countries, Hungary is also severely affected by immigration, Hungary's prime minister said, adding that Hungary supports Italy's proposal for a comprehensive European development strategy for Africa, as in the next twenty years the population growth in Africa will be twice as much as the population of the entire European Union.

Speaking about Italy-Hungary relations, Viktor Orban said cooperation is "significant both in the economy and in defense policy" and should be broadened to include energy, noting that a gas pipeline will be built connecting the two countries’ networks via Slovenia.

Rome–Budapest axis

As Magyar Nemzet reported earlier, Meloni also stressed that bilateral relations between Rome and Budapest are excellent, and that Hungary is an important European partner and a valuable NATO ally. She noted that among other issues, they also discussed the Russia-Ukraine conflict, on which the two countries hold differing views. 

Italy's prime minister emphasized that she highly appreciates and is grateful that Hungary has so far allowed member states and allies to reach agreement on important issues at EU and NATO meetings, even if Hungary did not fully agree. 

Cover photo: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at a press conference following their meeting at the Italian prime minister's office in the Chigi Palace in Rome on June 24, 2024 (Photo: MTI/Hungarian PM's Press Office/Zoltan Fischer)