“Most EU Member States believe that the coronavirus emergency fund, the EU budget and the rule of law debate must be dealt with at the same time,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán began his regular Friday morning interview on Kossuth Rádió. “Hungary, however,” he continued, “does not agree with this, and the Hungarian Government stands by the separation of these issues.”
Explaining what’s going on behind the scenes in the current situation, the PM said that the intention of the EU’s left-liberal majority is to be able to force their will on dissenting Member States via a majority decision. “While there is a pandemic to deal with, they propose an economic action plan with an attached political directive that will make it possible to force Member States into doing something they don’t want,” PM Orbán said.
“The Poles cannot back out of the veto; our countries have signed a declaration stating that Hungary and Poland will support each other and will not accept a solution that’s unacceptable to the other,” Orbán said referring to yesterday’s development in the negotiations between Polish leaders and the EU.
“What does the European Union want right now? They want to import 35 million migrants,” the prime minister said, adding that “Hungarians might not be as numerous as Germans, but we won’t be fooled. We can read between the lines: There is a proposal that would take away our right of resistance and then they propose something [taking in masses of immigrants] that we have opposed all along,” Prime Minister Orbán said.
There are leftist voices out there saying that Hungary would lose access to a massive pool of funds if we stick to our stance that financial matters must be kept separate from political questions, Prime Minister Orbán said, adding that “If taking out a joint loan was up to me, Hungary would not take out any loan.” According to the PM, Hungary is doing a “favor, making a gesture of solidarity” to less fortunate countries by agreeing to borrow jointly.
“Portraying this as something that Hungary would miss out on, should we decide to stay our course, is silly,” the PM said.
Regarding the coronavirus vaccine, on the back of leading vaccine manufacturers announcing that they will ship to the United States and the United Kingdom before shipping to Europe, Prime Minister Orbán said that “we have been slapped in the face, not just Hungary, but all of Europe.” This, PM Orbán stressed, goes to prove that the defense against the pandemic must not become a political question, as political considerations must not undermine our efforts. “Negotiations must be conducted in the East as well as the West,” the prime minister said.
When asked about restrictive measures once the current restrictions expire on December 11, PM Orbán said that decisions will be made over the weekend, and he will make them public on Monday. He noted, however, that epidemiologists are against lifting restrictions.
In the last section of the interview, Prime Minister Orbán urged Hungarians in Romania to vote for the representatives of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (known by its Hungarian acronym of RMDSZ). “We hope that a stable government will be formed and that RMDSZ’s participation will be successful,” the PM concluded.
Photo credit: Viktor Orbán - facebook