PM Orban: No One Intends to Manage Decline, We All Want to Make Europe Great Again

The issue of EU competitiveness was one of the most important agenda points of the summit. Prime Minister Viktor Orban held a press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban greets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen upon her arrival for informal EU Summit enges, including the war in Ukraine and the ongoing escalation in the Middle East. (Photo by Ferenc ISZA / AFP) Fotó: AFP

Prime Minister Viktor Orban held a joint press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel after the EU summit in Budapest.

Before I say a few words about these meetings, I would like to begin by strongly condemning the terrible attacks on the Israeli people. I would like to express my solidarity with the victims,

 the president of the European Council prefaced his speech, stressing that anti-Semitism is unacceptable. 

Last night we had the opportunity to discuss the Transatlantic Alliance and the relationship with the United States following the re-election of Donald Trump,

said Charles Michel, who also expressed his congratulations to Donald Trump at the press conference.

We are ready to strengthen transatlantic cooperation, we are ready to work together to coordinate cooperation in different areas with the United States. I see three important elements for this coordination and cooperation. The first is bilateral relations, trade and investment, he said. Charles Michel added that this is a challenge. We want to strengthen our economic base and I am sure we will work hard in this area, he said. 

The second is the security and geopolitical challenges. Ukraine and the Middle East require more dialogue. More efforts are needed to ensure the defense of our common interests.

The European Council president stressed the importance of supporting Ukraine and defending common values.

The third important issue, he said, was global challenges: climate change and digital issues. 

We are seeing a paradigm shift in the economy, and that means we need to work with partners around the world on these issues,

he said, explaining the areas where Europe needs to put in more work.

Charles Michel stressed his view that 

the discussion this morning has clearly shown that urgent action is needed on these issues: deepening the internal market, progress on the capital market, creating a savings and investment union - and we will continue to work on the proposals.

He added that the issue of financial resources is crucial. 

I believe the Budapest Declaration clearly sets out the milestones on the basis of which we will continue to work going forward,

he stressed.

In conclusion, Charles Michel spoke about defense and security. 

I remember that five years ago, when some of us started talking about European sovereignty, traditional autonomy, perhaps this was not part of mainstream discourse. Of course, today I see that there is a growing support for the idea that we need to strengthen European defense preparedness and that we need to strengthen our defense capabilities. And that means that we need to improve our cooperation. NATO is one of the foundational pillars, there is no doubt about that. But there is also a European responsibility aspect. And it is also an opportunity to discuss how to strengthen the industrial base in this area,

he said. 

There is no place for anti-Semitism in Europe. We are determined to fight against it, just as we are determined to fight against all forms of hatred, so that Jewish life and culture can flourish in Europe, 

Ursula von der Leyen began her speech. The European Commission president was reacting to the events in Amsterdam on Thursday evening. Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters were attacked by pro-Palestinian migrants in the Dutch city. 

The Commission president then thanked Viktor Orban for organizing the summit: 

First of all, let me thank Prime Minister Viktor Orban, dear Viktor, for his excellent hospitality and for organizing this informal meeting. Budapest is well known for its history, but also for its hospitality. I can confirm that we had the opportunity to experience this famous hospitality yesterday. Thank you very much!

She then also thanked Charles Michel, who was chairing his last European Council meeting as his mandate as president was coming to an end.

"Over dinner yesterday, we discussed the US presidential election results. The United States is our largest economic and trading partner. The historical ties between us and our citizens are unique, with millions of friendships. We must therefore work together with the new administration from the outset. That way we can continue to shape the positive aspects of the transatlantic agenda. I had the opportunity to congratulate Donald Trump on the phone this afternoon," the Commission president said. 

The main issue in the discussions was European competitiveness, she said, adding that we need to identify Europe's strengths. 

"For example, compared to our competitors, we have the highest life expectancy, an excellent education system, regardless of the financial situation of parents, the lowest income inequality, and therefore a very high level of social security. We also have the highest reduction in carbon emissions," she listed.

"However, there are still areas where we need to improve our performance," she added. The current debate and discussion was based on Mario Draghi's report. Ursula von der Leyen listed the priorities as: 

closing the innovation gap, developing a common competitiveness, decarbonization and digitalization plan.

"On behalf of Hungary, I condemn the anti-Semitic riots happening in Amsterdam," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban started his speech, also indicating that for Hungarians such behavior is utterly unacceptable.

 You are now in a city - and I say this to foreigners - where Europe's largest synagogue and the city's largest Catholic cathedral are practically a stone's throw away from each other. And this proximity is also symbolic of our city. It is a meeting place. A meeting place for different cultures. East, West, North, South, and that's what makes it so uniquely tolerant. That is why we live together here in Budapest in peace and security. I wish this for the people of Amsterdam, as well.

The prime minister said that it was an honor to host the leaders of the European Union.

And just to preclude unnecessary questions, I would like to clarify in advance what is common knowledge, namely that there are serious political conflicts between the Commission of the European Union and Hungary. I also have disputes with the president, but at this time Ursula von der Leyen is our guest. We invited her, and she accepted our invitation, she came to our "home", and a guest deserves a polite welcome and respect, so there was no sharp debate, and indeed there was no debate between us at the Council meeting,

Mr Orban noted, adding that 

"We will fight our battles in Brussels. Moreover, the main topic here was competitiveness, and we were in complete agreement on that".

The Hungarian prime minister stated,

 The Hungarian Presidency's goal was to focus all our efforts on competitiveness, and the plan was to create a competitiveness pact, an agreement, a Budapest Declaration, and after many months of work we have achieved this.

"I would like to thank my own colleagues, the president of the Commission and her colleagues, my friend Charles Michel and his colleagues, and also President Mario Draghi, who prepared the report. It took a lot of work by a lot of people to be able to agree on a joint document that puts competitiveness at the focal point of the work for the next five years," the PM said. 

The facts are well known: growth in the European Union has been consistently slower than that of China or the United States over the past two decades; productivity here in Europe is growing more slowly than that of our competitors; the European Union's share of world trade is falling, and EU companies pay three times higher electricity prices than their competitors in the United States, and four times higher for natural gas, he noted.

It is no exaggeration that the Budapest Declaration states that immediate action is needed. 

The Hungarian PM explained that he is determined to implement a "simplification revolution". 

By reducing administrative burdens, as a first step, by the end of the first half of 2025 we will drastically reduce the number of reporting obligations that are a burden on European companies. We are determined to adopt urgent measures to reduce high energy prices. We are also determined to formulate a real industrial policy for the next period. We have all agreed, pledged and confirmed, that by 2030 we will devote 3% of European GDP to research and development. We have resolved to implement the Capital Markets Union in its entirety, 

Mr Orban said, listing the results of the meeting. 

European people have higher savings than Americans, but keep their money in banks, he said, noting that banks are not genetically suited to finance various risky high-tech investments.

So we need to have bank deposits move into financial funds, we need to convince our citizens to do so in order to make those funds more easily available for innovative economic solutions,

he said.

The Hungarian prime minister also stated that it had been decided to create a European defense industrial base, explaining that

We agreed that competitiveness will be the focus for the next five years, and we also agreed that every new legislative proposal should be accompanied by an assessment, which we will call a competitiveness test, to see what impact it has on competitiveness.

Viktor Orban said that Ursula von der Leyen had agreed with the members of the European Council that the issue of competitiveness would be regularly revisited at European Council meetings. 

I am optimistic at the end of today's meeting, I felt that no one intends to manage decline, but we all want to make Europe great again, seeing that the Americans have decided that they will make America great. There is only one possible European answer to this: we will make Europe great again,

Prime Minister. Victor Orban concluded.

Cover photo: European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (Photo: AFP)