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PM Orbán: Fresh blood is needed in the European Parliament

Regarding the so-called “migrant visas”, PM Orbán said that “it is rather funny” that a vote on an issue must repeated over and over again until the result seen by bureaucrats as the right one is finally achieved

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said that fresh blood is needed in the European Parliament.

During the “Good Morning, Hungary” program on Kossuth Radio on Friday, the prime minister said that “I see signs of exhaustion at the end of the parliamentary term”, but after next year’s elections to the European Parliament (EP) there will be new MEPs, and “I believe that the quality of democracy will improve”.

Regarding the so-called “migrant visas”, PM Orbán said that “it is rather funny” that a vote on an issue must repeated over and over again until the result seen by bureaucrats as the right one is finally achieved.

At the same time he asked why this is tolerated by MEPs, who are expected to stand up for the interests of the people who send them to the EP, and added that “If I tried something like this here in the Hungarian parliament, I would face a rebellion not only from the opposition, but also from the members of my own parliamentary group”.

He noted that no democracy – including in Hungary – is perfect, but that the variety in Brussels is even further from such an ideal.

The prime minister also highlighted that the “Sargentini Report” has been used to attack Hungary, and “we’ve hit back just as hard as our attackers – or possibly even harder.” he confirmed that the government will not tolerate anyone trying to destroy the country’s reputation and integrity, observing that “those who bite us will need strong teeth, because that is something which we shall not tolerate”.

The government recently commissioned a van displaying a billboard which warns of the consequences of pro-immigration policies. This was stopped by police in the streets of Brussels and the driver was told to remove the image of Guy Verhofstadt. In response to this, the prime minister said that “there is greater vitality in Central and Eastern European democracy than in its Western European variant”.