B

PM Orbán in Transylvania: We need a Europe that can ensure the safe future of our children

At an informal EU summit in Nagyszeben/Sibiu yesterday, the 27 heads of state and government adopted the Sibiu Declaration emphasizing the bloc’s commitment to “one Europe…united, through thick and thin”. While most leaders were busy coming to such general conclusions, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán – in his characteristic straight talk – spoke in detail about migration and the future of Europe as we know it.

Speaking at a press conference at the Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania in Kolozsvár/Cluj-Napoca on Wednesday, Prime Minister Orbán said that “one of the biggest questions of the future is whether we manage to get the diverging views on migration closer to each other, whether we fix Europe’s unity”.

“While the West is thinking about how to live together with immigrants, we Central Europeans are trying to find a way to avoid it,” PM Orbán said adding that people in Central Europe want to stop immigration, but other countries want to ‘manage’ it.

In a video message posted on his Facebook page prior to the summit, the prime minister said the position he was going to represent on behalf of Hungary at the summit is that migration must be stopped. “When we think about the future of Europe, the most important thing is to elect leaders who oppose migration so that Europe can defend itself and the future of our children,” he said.

The Sibiu Declaration, adopted yesterday, concludes ten commitments unanimously agreed upon by EU leaders, including the protection of democracy, the future of upcoming generations and the border protection of a unified Europe that should act as a “responsible global leader” and aim to tackle global issues.

The document declares: “[w]e reaffirm our belief that united, we are stronger in this increasingly unsettled and challenging world. We recognize our responsibility as Leaders to make our Union stronger and our future brighter.”