Europe’s Citizens Want Peace

At Tuesday’s plenary session of the European Parliament, lawmakers debated preparations for the December 18–19 European Council summit. During the discussion, MEP Tamas Deutsch, head of the Fidesz–KDNP delegation in the European Parliament and member of the Patriots group, took the floor and stressed that if European decision-makers had listened to Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s peace initiative a year and a half ago, hundreds of thousands of lives would not have been lost in the war, and the European Union would not have spent roughly €200 billion on the conflict in Ukraine. According to Deutsch, “war madness in Brussels has shifted into an even higher gear,” even as Europe’s citizens are calling for peace.

Fidesz MEP Tamas Deutsch (Photo: MTI)

In his remarks, Deutsch reminded the plenary of a letter Viktor Orban sent upon returning from his peace mission a year and a half ago to the president of the European Council. In that letter, the Hungarian prime minister warned that Europe’s strategy—pursued in the name of transatlantic unity—had effectively followed the United States’ pro-war policy, despite the fact that, in the event of an electoral victory by Donald Trump, the U.S. president-elect would have been prepared to act as a peace broker even before his inauguration. PM Orban also cautioned that a Trump victory could significantly alter the balance of financial burden-sharing between the United States and the European Union in supporting Ukraine—ultimately to Europe’s disadvantage.

Hungary, adhering to its pro-peace position, does not support the confiscation of frozen Russian assets (Photo: ATTILA KISBENEDEK / AFP)

The Fidesz-KDNP delegation leader emphasized:

had European leaders heeded the peace initiative at the time, hundreds of thousands of lives could have been spared and Europe would not now be bearing such a massive financial burden. Instead, he said, Brussels continues to push for the continuation of the war in Ukraine and has, in fact, ratcheted up its war policy to a new level,

reads the Fidesz Patriots for Europe website.

Deutsch stressed: 

By contrast, Europe’s citizens want peace. Accordingly, Hungary remains committed to a pro-peace position and does not support proposals to confiscate frozen Russian assets—plans that carry serious economic and financial risks for Europe.

The politician also made clear that Hungary will not participate in joint EU borrowing schemes designed to finance the continuation of the war, nor will it send money or weapons to Ukraine.

Cover photo: Fidesz MEP Tamas Deutsch (Photo: MTI)