PM Orban: Brussels Wants to Turn Hungary Into Magdeburg + Video

We must insist firmly on our rejection of illegal migration, the PM Orban said at his international press conference.

The Hungarian prime minister wished everyone a blessed, peaceful and happy Christmas and a prosperous and healthy New Year, and expressed his sympathy and sorrow to the families of the victims who died and were injured in the terrorist attack in Germany. It is perhaps appropriate to wait a day or two before drawing political conclusions, he added, as sympathy prevails in our feelings at such times, and rightly so.

"However, I would like to say that these phenomena have only existed in Europe since the migration crisis. There is no doubt that there is a connection between what Western Europe has become, the influx of migration, especially illegal migration, and terrorist acts. Therefore, 

the lesson that Hungary can learn from this is that it must consistently maintain that Hungary must not be allowed to transform itself into a world where such things can happen.

But above all, we are with the Germans, emphasized the prime minister at his year-end press conference.

Brussels unanimously assessed Hungary's EU presidency as successful, he said, speaking about the results of Hungary's presidency. He highlighted that more than a thousand meetings were held and that a great deal of work and energy had been invested. Having held the EU presidency once before, Mr Orban said that this time there was much more work to do, recalling that Hungary worked on roughly a hundred legislative dossiers during its current EU presidency.

"I have never seen such isolation, half the world was here in Hungary. We held the biggest diplomatic event in the country's history, and at the end even our opponents congratulated us on the quantity and quality of the work accomplished," PM Orban noted.

War, Schengen, competitiveness, agriculture

Political problems cannot be solved bureaucratically, only politically, Mr Orban pointed out. One such issue was the war, he said, noting that Hungary had no room for manoeuvre. According to the majority in Brussels, this war is "our war too", and the only question at issue is how much to get involved in it. In contrast, the Hungarian position is that this is a fraternal war between two  Slavic peoples and that efforts should be made to prevent the conflict from widening.

Today no one disputes any more that Hungary had the right and duty to embark on a peace missions,

the Hungarian prime minister pointed out. The issue of the enlargement of the Schengen area was another important topic on the table during Hungary's presidency, he said. The accession of Romania and Bulgaria was blocked for more than ten years, which had to be resolved with a great deal of negotiations. Finally, the way to the Schengen area was opened for the two countries.

"This will also bring such benefits for Hungary that we cannot even imagine today," Viktor Orban said, highlighting Sopron and its region (near Austria), where a lot of changes have taken place since Hungary joined the Schengen area.

In the context of Hungary's EU presidency, he also touched on Europe's deteriorating competitiveness, saying that the EU's share in the global output is falling, and the Draghi report described the seriousness of the situation in vague terms, he said. Therefore,

this issue had to be dealt with, and the European Competitiveness Pact was adopted during Hungary's EU presidency.

The EU's agricultural future beyond 2027 was also a political issue of similar importance. He pointed out that the discussions have started and that it would only be possible to agree if the 27 countries shared the same opinion on how the money should be spent. He called it a breakthrough that all 27 agriculture ministers have agreed on a shared vision for Europe’s agrarian economy.

"It is worthwhile to be brave and take on disputes even in matters that are unwinnable at first glance. No one thought that the Schengen enlargement would take place during Hungary's EU presidency, or that the agriculture ministers would reach an agreement," said the Hungarian prime minister.

 

Era of peace coming

"Let me say a few words about the new situation in the Western world. The first question is whether there is a new situation. I've come from Brussels, where they fail to acknowledge that there is a new reality. The European elite takes no notice of the new situation. If we take seriously the messages that the US resident-elect has sent to Europe, if we do not change, new tariffs will come. It would be worthwhile for Europe to realize that we are living in a new reality, new things are going to happen. In the Western world, a completely new perception will prevail of migration, of war and of the sanctions to come. We will enter an era of peace,"  PM Orban underlined.

"We provided all humanitarian aid in the Russia-Ukraine war. We also helped Ukraine in training doctors. However, war also means a war economy. But now the war can end, the sanctions that plague the European economy can be lifted, and prosperity can return to all of Europe. We represent this change throughout Europe," Viktor Orban underlined.

"The pact, which created a large majority in the European Parliament, emphasizes how much money to pay in, but we believe that it is not how much to put into the war that should be emphasized, but how to end it." 

With the formation of the Patriots, the situation has changed, as Brussels has an opposition now.

"We are the opposition to the liberal Brussels elite," he noted.

Moving on to speak about Hungary, he touched on a variety of political instruments used by the government, including the national consultation survey.  "1,252,000 individuals took part in the national consultation which shows that there is steam, there is interest in Hungarian public life, he said, adding that Hungarians want to know how the government and other people think about important things.

We can be sure that in the coming years things will happen that have never happened before,

Hungary's prime minister noted.

2025 will be a fantastic year

Among the planned economic policy measures, he highlighted the housing support and workers' loan. "In addition to students, we also support those who take up employment," Viktor Orban underlined. On industrial development, he said "we inaugurate projects all the time, there are a great many projects under way in the country also now. However, projects which we believe will bring about a new dimension are rare, but  BMW's plant is like that," he pointed out. There is a big debate about the direction Hungary's industrial policy should take, he recalled. The government sees electromobility as the big issue of the coming decade.

The ability to store energy generated from green sources is the biggest industrial innovation from Hungary's point of view,  and also from the point of view of the world economy. The number of electric cars sold at any particular time does not change this strategic direction, because it will remain a viable area, he added.

"Retail sales are up by four percent, the housing market is picking up, and construction orders are up by 32 percent compared to the previous month. We will not be starting from zero when we take a flying start, because there are already indicators for an optimistic outlook. 2025 will be a fantastic year," PM Orban said.

 

Successful national consultation

After his briefing, Hungary's prime minister answered questions from journalists. Regarding the  national consultation, he said this national consultation survey generated the third highest level of interest so far. The last time there was such a high level of interest was the consultation on pensions and other economic issues. The prime minister said that the Hungarians are most interested in economic issues, which he believes is the right thing.

"There is always a debate about whether or not the questions are purposefully worded," added Viktor Orban. In his view, the answers are clear, Hungary must remain on the path of economic neutrality. The consultation does not replace the elections, he emphasized.

He described competitiveness as a dynamic concept designed to ensure that everyone has a job. "Anyone who wants to work in Hungary today can work," he said.  The essence of competitiveness is to invest in modern sectors, he said. He sees the key problem for the Hungarian economy in the energy sector, where there has been a steep price increase. Until the new Paks power plant is up and running, he said, the country will be dependent on energy imports to a large extent, and now we have had to pay 17 billion instead of seven billion. "Hungary must strive to obtain energy as cheaply as possible," Mr Orban stressed. 

In response to a question, the Hungarian prime minister also commented on the altercation between Peter Magyar of the opposition Tisza Party and Tamas Menczer, Fidesz's communications director. "It was not Tamas Menczer who brought the rough style, he just accepted the challenge," Viktor Orban  pointed out. According to him,

the government should deal with the country, not the opposition.

"My view of Hungarian domestic politics for many years now is that I have been compelled to endure the situation that Brussels’ agents lead the Hungarian opposition. This has been the case for ten or so years now. This has been so ever since Hungary announced that it has a path of its own and would take on the disputes with Brussels. At every election since then I have seen that Brussels makes every effort to achieve a change of government in Hungary, and they do not even deny this. I was in the European Parliament, they told me that you are to go and a new one will come. And they said the same thing to the Poles, so let's not play this game. The situation is clear."

Brussels is bent on effecting a change of government.

They have their people for that, I won't argue with them, but I will argue with their masters in Brussels, and I even want to defeat them. It's not here that I have to defeat them, but in Brussels, and I'm working on that, the prime minister stated.

The Patriots could become Europe's biggest party

Az uniós kohéziós forrásokról Orbán Viktor kijelentette: Magyarország nem veszít el On EU Cohesion Funds, PM Orban said that Hungary will not lose any. "We have the money we are entitled to in Brussels. They want to take it away, but we will defend it. I have already secured 12.5 billion euros, these funds are in our account, and I will get the rest. Hungary will get all the money it is entitled to," the PM Orban stressed.

As for the the budget, he said the government would like to keep the deficit below four per cent in the coming year, he said. "When I look at the other countries, we will not be the only ones with this result. The aim is for the Hungarian budget to steadily reduce its deficit. I've learnt from Angela Merkel that everything you spend, somebody has to earn," the Mr Orban said.

Commenting on the processes in the European Parliament, he said that instead of the Italian prime minister, the former Polish prime minister will be at the helm of the European Conservatives and Reformers party family, with whom cooperation is close. "The two 'herds' are different, it's no accident that we are in two different EP groups. But we are getting closer to each other, and we are striving for well-structured institutional cooperation for the future.

If the third and fourth strongest EP groups can work together, we can be bigger than the Socialists,

currently the second largest group, Viktor Orban said. If the Patriots become the second largest force in Europe, they could attract other parties from the European People's Party, currently the largest group, and overtake them with time.

Brussels would turn Hungary into Magdeburg

Hungary continues to be under constant attack because of migration, even though the growing threat Europe is facing has clearly proven that we were right. We are being blackmailed and punished now, because we have done our job and protected our borders, Viktor Orban said, adding that a situation could arise at any time where we load migrants onto a bus and take them to Brussels.

We will protect ourselves. When terrorist attacks occur, everyone sees the gravity of migration. The migratory pressure may sometimes be less, but the historical threat is much greater than at other times. Migration remains the most important issue, and the Magdeburg terrorist attack is not a German matter, as Brussels would turn Hungary into Magdeburg,

he stated.  As for the fines imposed on the country, he stressed that Hungary we will not pay them, but will go to court and recover the money taken away.

Speaking about Hungary's currency, he said the most important task is to make the forint stable enough to respond briskly to changes in the global economy. The current fluctuations are unnatural, in his view. "Preserving the value of the forint is the legal task of the central bank. Joining the Eurozone stifles economic development, so we don't want to stabilize the national currency by joining, there are other instruments, he pointed out.

Asked about the peace mission, Viktor Orban said

I am eager for someone to take over the baton, we need to be aware of our country's size and importance and the impact this can have.

"We have our national self-esteem, we know that we are irreplaceable and indispensable, but Hungary has taken on far more than it can handle with the peace mission, for moral reasons, among other things. The new American president is coming, and he will lead the way," Hungary's prime minister emphasized.

The Hungarian prime minister recently had an exciting conversation with US President-elect Donald Trump in his private residence. They talked for about an hour and a half, but it was not a formal meeting, because the new president is not yet inaugurated. "What will become realistic is what will happen in the twenty-four hours after he takes office," Viktor Orban noted.

In his regular Friday morning radio interview, the prime minister emphasized the need for a flying start in January, because he believes this is the key to success. He also spoke about the war in Ukraine and the difficulties the European economy is struggling with.

A Christmas ceasefire would signal that it is not hopeless to have a short-term peace and ceasefire in Europe, because if it can be achieved for a few days, it can be achieved after Christmas, as a result of a longer negotiation,

Viktor Orban told Kossuth radio.

Cover photo: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at his international press conference (Photo: Sandor Csudai)