PM Orban: European Politics Must Be Turned Back From a Dead End + Video

Some European leaders want to go to war, PM Orban said on Kossuth Radio, adding that Hungary is not willing to take serious sums out of the budget in order to hand that money over to Ukraine.

PM Viktor Orban (Photo: MTI / Prime Minister’s Press Office / Zoltan Fischer)

 “I have written my reply letter to Ursula von der Leyen, but I do not want to send it until I have consulted with EU Affairs Minister Janos Boka,” Viktor Orban said on Kossuth Radio’s Good Morning, Hungary! program in connection with the European Commission’s request that member states contribute funds to support Ukraine. The prime minister explained that he will not only articulate Hungary’s refusal but also the reasons behind it, and he will offer suggestions to the president of the Commission.

Viktor Orban in Kossuth Radio's studio. Photo: MTI/Prime Minister’s Press Office/Zoltan Fischer

PM Orban added that Europe must reverse course from the street that has proven to be a dead end in European politics. Some leaders, he said, have already decided that they are going to war.

This must be prevented. In Brussels they continually make decisions that point in the direction of war. Europe is not only stumbling into war, but it has become clear that some leaders quite obviously want to go to war,

– he pointed out.

According to Mr. Orban, this is no longer just about not burning through Europeans’ money, but also about how to hold them back from war.

– “The president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, wants to scrape together 130 billion euros, but Hungarian money belongs to the Hungarians. We are not willing to take serious sums out of the Hungarian budget at the expense of businesses or family support programs so that the money can be sent to Ukraine, where we do not know exactly what happens to it. Another of the Commission president’s proposals is that we jointly take out a loan, which would mean that even our grandchildren’s budgets would have to cover this sum. Her third proposal is that we fund Ukrainian needs from Russian assets that have been frozen,” Viktor Orban said.

PM Orban also emphasized that although it was known that secret consultations were underway, it has now been confirmed that a 28-point peace plan exists, containing proposals that have already been preliminarily discussed. The next two to three weeks may be decisive for ending the Russian–Ukrainian war, he said, noting that “something is beginning to take shape, bringing us closer to the Budapest peace summit.”

There Is No Mechanism to Track Support Sent to Ukraine

Regarding the Ukrainian corruption scandal, the prime minister said that two things have become clear about the operation of the Ukrainian wartime mafia: first, that large sums disappear and do not reach the intended destinations where the Americans sent them; second, that Europe has no monitoring system capable of tracking where these amounts end up. 
“There is no such mechanism, and it seems we do not even want to have one. I discussed with Peter Szijjarto that if there is no such system, we should create it — in fact, we should suspend payments until we know the fate of this support — but they swept this proposal off the table,” he said.

 

If Ukraine Were an EU Member, We Would Be at War With Russia Today

The prime minister reminded listeners that Western Balkan countries have been unable to advance toward EU membership for a decade and a half, and now, seeing Ukraine’s case, they are asking whether starting a war would help them progress as it has Ukraine. He called this line of thought within the EU absurd. He added:

“what seems absurd today can appear as an argument at a serious negotiation tomorrow.”

However, according to Mr. Orban, all this illustrates the level of desperation. The prime minister said that if Ukraine were an EU member today, we would be at war with Russia. He said Hungary can stay out of Ukraine’s collective support only by holding the line.

Hungary's prime minister stressed that migration is an older issue and the war a newer one, both of which have caused disagreements with Brussels. According to Viktor Orban, Hungary must stay out of the war the same way it stayed out of migration.

“This is the trick: we need strength and capability to stay out of the war as well. 

– “We rejected migration based on strong popular will. Most Hungarians, he believes, are pro-peace, but this must be expressed, PM Orban said, adding that there is a major battle with Brussels, one that must also be fought in Budapest against Brussels’ overseers.
– “This is a major battle with Brussels. The Hungarian opposition stands on Brussels’ side, on the side of the war supporters. The government finds itself facing DK and Tisza. DK is an old story — we know that if there is a left-wing government at home, then Brussels is actually governing. But this is now the case with Tisza as well: it was created from Brussels, financed from Brussels, and maintained with the goal of breaking the will of the Hungarian people.”

 

The Foundation of the Hungarian Economy Is the Family

Regarding the 11-point economic action plan adopted this week to support small and medium-sized enterprises, Viktor Orban said that issues related to the war and to migration are spectacular, while economic matters represent a different kind of minefield, with behind-the-scenes consultations forming part of everyday life. – “The foundation of the Hungarian economy is the family, not the individual. For us, full employment is a state goal,” he said, emphasizing that one reason for this is that Hungary has lost its mines, forests, and oil fields, and has no natural resources — so it can live only off what its people produce with their minds or their muscles.

– “Everything we have in this country comes from the efforts of Hungarians. That is why we think that if there is no work, there is nothing; if there is work, anything is possible. This is why it is a state goal in Hungary to ensure work for every Hungarian. As long as there is a national government, we can count on running an economic system that aims at full employment.

We can operate our economic system without migrants — at most we only occasionally need guest workers — while in Western Europe they are replacing the missing workforce through migration,

– he explained.

The Tisza Party’s chief economic figure is a banker who served as state secretary for a year and a half, PM Orban said. Their paths diverged because he thought like a banker — for example, he did not want to send the IMF home. “This is another world, the world of the left,” Orban said. For the government, however, the economy is about people. He always considers what kind of life will grow out of the given economic policy.

PM Orban said it was his personal conviction that whatever stems from the governance of the Fidesz–Christian Democrat (KDNP) party alliance is far more attractive than anything the left has ever been able to offer.

Hungary's premier wished much success to the Tisza Party’s candidate aspirants, but he noted that when he looks at them, he sees the inevitable reality that in a country of ten million people, there is not enough personnel to staff many parties. Hungary has two sides. Smaller parties exist, but there will always be two dominant forces. He said he sees left-wing people on this list, and from the national side’s perspective, they are too pro-Brussels and too pro-Ukrainian.

Cover photo: Viktor Orban (Photo: MTI/Prime Minister’s Press Office/Zoltan Fischer)