Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has highlighted how Martin Schulz "has been attacking Hungary for years" for defending its borders and refusing to accept migrants.
In an interview with German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, the former head of Germany’s Social Democratic party and President of the European Parliament between 2012 and 2017 accused the Hungarian government of oppressing the media, anti-Semitism and corruption.
According to MTI, PM Orbán insisted in response that media outlets in Hungary enjoyed more freedom and represented more diverse viewpoints than their German counterparts. In regards to the charge of anti-Semitism, PM Orbán said “openly anti-Semitic abuse and harassment of Jewish persons” still happened in Germany and was “inconceivable in Hungary”.
PM Orbán said Schulz’s “greatest lie” pertained to European Union funding. “Schulz and many other Germans pretend Germany is giving money to poorer countries,” he said. “They give some of their profit [from the single market] back to other member states through the EU budget, much of which then ends up with them again,” PM Orbán said, adding that some 6 billion euros was taken out of Hungary annually while it got back 4 billion euros from the EU budget. “It’s hypocritical to expect us to be grateful for that.”
Photo credit: Origo