Minister Szijjártó held talks with Christian Hafenecker, secretary-general of Austria’s Freedom Party (FPÖ), and told the joint press conference that the European Union has become severely weakened, with 2025 marking “the year of the EU’s isolation.”
“By pursuing a pro-war, pro-migration and pro-gender political strategy, Europe has simply isolated itself in world politics. The European Union is no longer a leading actor in global politics or the global economy,” he said.
He argued that the EU has been excluded from efforts to resolve the continent’s major conflicts, including the war in Ukraine and the fragile situation in the Western Balkans. “Brussels is flailing, trying to create the impression that they are involved in solving these conflicts, but they are not,” he added.
Szijjártó stated that the liberal mainstream has caused Europe’s competitiveness to “dramatically decline,” while the continent “has completely lost its security.”
He said patriotic forces want Europe to become strong again, and the key question is how to achieve this. “We have an answer: a patriotic shift. This shift has already begun, because in many European countries, the strongest parties are patriotic parties. But for now, the liberal mainstream still has enough strength to keep these parties away from government — even at the cost of violating democratic norms,” he said.
He recalled that this was the case in Austria, where the FPÖ won the election but “through various manoeuvres the losers formed a coalition,” adding that he would not normally raise this if “some Austrian politicians were not constantly lecturing us on democracy and the rule of law.”
Szijjártó welcomed the close patriotic cooperation between Hungary’s governing party and Austria’s largest party, saying it is based on rejecting war, illegal migration and “gender ideology.”
“We say no to war, no to migration and no to gender nonsense. We patriots want peace, we patriots do not want illegal migration, and we can protect our children from gender ideology. We want Europe to be strong again — built on strong nations and strong countries. A United States of Europe is unacceptable, and so is Brussels’ overreach,” he said.
He reaffirmed that the two parties will continue working together to accelerate the patriotic shift that could restore Europe’s strength, and thanked the FPÖ for consistently standing up for Hungary.
In response to questions, Szijjártó said the Hungarian government does not “prefer” any Austrian party, as that is for Austrian voters to decide. “We are tired of constant interference in domestic politics. The liberal mainstream loves lecturing others on what to do. We leave it to Austrian voters,” he said.
He added that it is natural for him to meet the leaders of Austria’s largest party during a visit. “The FPÖ has views on Austrian-Hungarian relations, and as Hungary’s foreign minister I am interested in what the largest Austrian party thinks about bilateral cooperation,” he said.