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Victor Orban PHOTO: PHOTO: Reuters
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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has hinted for the first time that it is possible for his country to leave the EU, DPA reported.
Under the slogan of the rule of law, the European Union is waging a “holy war, jihad”, the right-wing nationalist prime minister said in a speech to supporters in the Hungarian capital. At the same time, he called on the EU to be tolerant of Hungary, BTA reported.
Otherwise, Orban said, it will not be possible for them to continue on a common path.
The Hungarian prime minister made the statement a few days before the date on which the European Court is expected to announce its ruling on the EU’s new rule of law mechanism. Hungary and Poland have filed a lawsuit against the new mechanism, adopted in December 2020, under which countries violating the rule of law may be cut off from the general European budget.
European authorities and human rights organizations have accused the 2010 prime minister of undermining democracy and the rule of law. Orban opposed this assessment in today’s speech. “For them, the rule of law is a means by which they want to shape us into something like them,” he said, stressing that Hungary would not want to become like Western Europe, just as it would not expect the West to accept Hungarian family or asylum policies.
Budapest wants to preserve the unity of the EU “despite growing cultural alienation”, Orban added, noting that this is why his country has repeatedly made “proposals for tolerance” to Brussels and Berlin.
“There is no solution other than tolerance. This is the only way to find a common path,” he said.
In addition, Orban stressed in his annual speech, which launched the parliamentary election campaign in April, that a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine could lead to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees trying to enter Hungary, the Associated Press reported. He added that avoiding war was in Hungary’s interest and called for a solution to the crisis through dialogue.
The prime minister stressed that he opposes the EU’s plans to use sanctions against Russia. “There can be no question of sanctions, penal policies, edification or any other kind of arrogance on the part of the great powers,” said Orban, whose country opposes the imposition of European sanctions against Moscow.
Orban also said that Ukraine is a vital buffer zone between Russia and Hungary. He added that “Europe’s military strength must be at least comparable to Russia’s”, which is why Budapest supports the development of European military capabilities and the creation of a common European defense force.
Orban also extended the fuel price cap and promised more generous support for families if re-elected in the April 3rd election. He accused his opponents of planning a return to bad economic governance, which brought the country to the brink of financial collapse in 2008, Reuters reported.
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