The European Parliament elections show that there has been a shift to the right in Europe, said Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto at the discussion "Looking to the Horizon: The Challenges of Hungarian Foreign Policy" held at the MCC Feszt in Esztergom. He went on to say that the formation of the Patriots for Europe group will help to identify the characteristics of the European liberal mainstream. One such characteristic is arrogance, which was shown by how they received the news that a new EP group was set up by MEPs with patriotic, conservative and Christian values. "The media critical of us alongside the politicians they promote took a rather disparaging view, portraying us as an obnoxious group, yet the third largest grouping in the European Parliament was created," the minister pointed out.
Brussels has spat democracy in the face
He took the view that Brussels has resorted to a means of ignoring the will of the people.
Quite a few of the political parties that joined the Patriots group came first in their countries, but when the top EU positions were allocated, these parties got nothing. This is a spit in the face of European voters and democracy.
Double standards are applied in Europe: what is allowed for the left and the liberal mainstream is not allowed for the patriots and the European right. The voters clearly decided that the ruling party in Hungary should continue its work, Peter Szijjarto pointed out, adding that Marine Le Pen's party won the national assembly elections and finished with over 30 percent, receiving one million more votes than the party that came second. It's another issue that this did not allow her to form a government. Besides just reading reports by the liberal press, it is also worth looking at the facts, because these facts are nowhere discussed, he recalled.
Commenting on the European People's Party, he said that the EPP had run the European Parliament in coalition with the European Socialists, but after a decline in their popularity, the Liberals and the Greens were needed. In this light, the EPP can be forgotten as a right-wing party, tending more towards the left. The party grouping, once center-right, has shifted to the left, with the advantage of opening up space for the real right, where there are now two party groups. The possibility of cooperation is still ahead of them, but time will come when a real right-wing grouping will take second place, the Hungarian foreign minister predicted.
Pro-war double standard
Hungary is not isolated, the minister said, because it is part of a huge global majority and there are those who look at what we are doing with great appreciation. They are telling us to hold out and be a normal voice in the transatlantic bubble. Before February 2022, calls for peace were loud when there was a war somewhere, but since then the exact opposite has been happening. We are living in the shadow of a war and we are paying the price. Last year, for example, Hungary's economic policy had to be sacrificed.
Pro-war politicians blasted Viktor Orban for visiting Kyiv, Moscow and Beijing. But when Giorgia Meloni traveled to Beijing and called China unavoidable, she was not criticized. It is good that they didn't criticize her, but they should not have done so when Viktor Orban went there,
he pointed out.
There is no solution to the war in Ukraine on the battlefield, Peter Szijjarto emphasized, pointing out that Western countries have sent hundreds of millions of weapons to Ukraine, yet the Russians are advancing day by day. Thus, it was not possible to reverse the processes on the battlefield with weapons, he added. In Brussels, they don't even know how many weapons need to be supplied. "Our task is to help create peace by reopening the dialogue," he said.
Synthesis of East and West
An interesting situation has evolved in Hungary, which will determine the country's competitiveness and long-term economic growth trajectory. Hungary is the only European country where five out of the ten major battery factories are present, three of them are Chinese and two are Korean. In Hungary, the German automotive industry and the Chinese supplier industry work in close cooperation, and the leaders of the German companies are asking the minister to help the parties to have closer ties.
"German and Chinese companies in Hungary work together as closely as possible, and our strategy would be damaged if this cooperation could not run smoothly. If I had to choose between the Chinese and the Germans, I'd opt for both,"
said the minister.
Poles are our brothers, but their government is hypocritical
Speaking about the Visegrad Four Group, he said Hungary still considers the Polish nation a brotherly nation, there is brotherhood between the Hungarian and Polish people. The problem is with the current Polish government, which is one of the most hypocritical in Europe. The Poles advocate the loudest that Europe should not purchase energy from the Russians, yet they continue to buy crude oil from them and trade with them. That's not the problem, it's the hypocrisy. "Why is it necessary to constantly pillory others?"
" We do what is in our interest. We strive to enhance cooperation, this is in line with the interest our national economy and energy security,"
he said.
He pointed out that Russian crude oil imports to India have increased from half a percent before the war to 30 percent, showing that Western Europeans purchase their crude oil through them. "Why should we be criticized for doing this straightforwardly," he asked. The whole of Europe is doing business with the Russians, they just deny it, because they are doing it in roundabout ways, and the liberal media never investigates this, he added.
Brussels is behind the stoppage of Lukoil crude oil deliveries
Based on the events and negotiations of the past few days, Peter Szjjarto believed that Brussels has orchestrated the processes leading to the blocking of crude oil supplies from Russia. This is happening because we are not giving up our pro-peace position and we are speaking frankly, which is uncomfortable for Brussels. "They want us to understand that we cannot do this with impunity."
"The EU cannot be so weak as to tolerate a decision by a candidate country that endangers the energy supply of an EU member state. Brussels invented the whole thing,"
he concluded.
He highlighted that in recent times a lot of work has been done to ensure that Hungary has reserves. It is not Brussels or Zagreb that can tell Hungary from whom and for how much to buy oil. National energy decisions fall within national competence and nobody else has a say. The Croatians, abusing their monopoly position, wanted to profit from this situation and increased the fee for the use of their pipeline. When we wanted to have a long-term contract, we were told to sign a new contract each month. "This is where we are now," he said, assessing the situation.
As long as Ukraine jeopardizes Hungary's energy supply, the release of funds from the Peace Facility is out of the question, the foreign minister said, adding the explanation that the Peace Facility is accessible for arms suppliers to reclaim part of the price of the delivered weapons from European taxpayers' money.
The key to good relations with America: Donald Trump
Commenting on the situation with the US, Peter Szijjarto said that Donald Trump's ideas and thinking concur with those of the Hungarian government. "It is not us financing opposition media in America, but the other way around, and such gestures cannot be called friendly. Under Trump the relations were great, under the Democrats they are very bad."
"We are striving for a good relationship with the US, which has a personal dimension, and that is called Donald Trump. We want peace, like Donald Trump,"
he said, adding that peace in Ukraine will only have a realistic chance if Donald Trump wins, because the Democratic administration continues to support the war.
Speaking about the Republican vice-presidential candidate, the Hungarian foreign minster said that he holds J.D. Vance in high esteem and is rooting for him to become vice-president. Donald Trump is a leader with both feet on the ground, who has been able to resolve very difficult dilemmas. In addition, the world needs no US-China trade war, as American and Chinese companies play an important role in each other's supply chains. "Besides Europe, Hungary's two most important trading partners are the US and China, and we would like to see a mutually beneficial cooperation between them, which is not hopeless" Peter Szijjarto said.
The most important success achieved in Hungarian foreign policy last year is that, outside the transatlantic world, Hungary is identified with common sense, mutual respect and a rational attitude, Hungary's foreign minister said in conclusion, adding that the world has a particularly positive opinion of Hungarians.
