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The Prime Minister offered his condolences to the people of Germany and families of the victims due to the terrorist attack in Germany. He stressed that while we must wait a day or two before drawing political conclusions, these phenomena have only existed since the development of the migration crisis in Europe. In his view, there is no doubt that there is a connection between illegal migration and acts of terrorism, but there are still some who try to deny this, despite the fact that earlier there were no such incidents, while today there are.
Therefore, Hungary is able to draw the conclusion that we must consistently insist: we must not allow our country to be transformed into a world where incidents like this can happen, he pointed out.
The Prime Minister described the rotating Hungarian EU presidency coming to an end at the end of December as successful, and observed in this regard that while we could save ourselves stinging side blows, he said never before in his life had he seen “such isolation,” “we had half the world here,” and Hungary hosted the biggest diplomatic event in its history. He said they had more than a thousand conferences and meetings, and adopted an enormous number of documents, having invested a tremendous amount of work and energy in the Hungarian presidency.
He indicated that the Hungarian presidency had adopted a political, rather than a bureaucratic approach because there had been as many as three important, open political issues on the table during this period: the Russo-Ukrainian war, the issue of the Schengen Area and the issue of competitiveness.
Regarding the issue of the war, he pointed out that the Hungarian presidency had not had any scope for manoeuvre because in the European Union there was a grave and profound difference concerning the strategy related to the Russo-Ukrainian war. He said one of the parties – they are in an overwhelming majority and their will is enforced at present – takes the view that this war is Europe’s war, and so we must take part in it. According to the other position – this is the view Hungary shares – this is a war of brothers between two Slavic peoples which we should isolate, rather than jump into, amplify and reinforce. Despite this, he thought the gravity of the situation warranted that Hungary should embark on a peace mission and take peace initiatives. We separated these from the EU presidency which then led to disputes, but today no one disputes any more that Hungary had a right, while in our opinion we had a duty, to launch peace missions, he added.
He said the other open political issue is the issue of the Schengen Area, stressing that the accession of Romania and Bulgaria was not only good for these two countries and for Hungary, but also meant the solution of a European problem as some Member States had blocked enlargement for 13 years. He also stressed that the cessation of a common border with Romania was a new prospect and a new opportunity for Hungary as the number of border crossing points will increase, shorter distances will have to be covered, maintaining contact will become easier, and on the whole, the quality of life will improve in the border regions.
He also said from January Hungary will be able to redeploy all border guards and police officers from the border section concerned for duty elsewhere which will be much help given the staff shortage problems experienced in law enforcement.
The Prime Minister spoke about the deterioration of European competitiveness as the third political issue of the EU presidency. He recalled that in the competitiveness pact adopted at the Budapest EU summit, they laid down the tasks in the six months ahead – with deadlines assigned – of all parties concerned with a view to stopping the deterioration of European competitiveness and reversing the process. He said no such document had been adopted before, and added that it was a significant result that in a Europe tending to the Left and usually more concerned with social issues, they had succeeded in reaching an agreement on the market, capital, investments and efficiency.
In this context, he said it is also a major achievement that during the Hungarian EU presidency the 27 ministers of agriculture adopted a common European position regarding the future of agricultural policy beyond 2027.
Evaluating the Hungarian presidency, in summary he said time has justified the Hungarian position that it is worth being brave and taking on disputes even on issues that may seem beyond resolution at first sight. Before the Hungarian presidency, no one would have betted on the realisation of the Schengen enlargement, the adoption of a competitiveness pact or the adoption of a common vision by ministers of agriculture regarding the future of Europe’s agriculture, he said. Compared with this, all of that has been achieved, he added.
He also spoke about the fact that in the wake of the US presidential elections, the European elite is not prepared to acknowledge any of the new realities. However, if the new president Donald Trump taking office on 20 January implements only a fraction of what he set out to do, the world will face enormous changes. Mr Orbán stressed that if they take the messages of the president-elect seriously – that unless they change the ratios of US-Europe trade which currently favour Europe and are detrimental for the United States – there will be “tariffs all the way.”
He further highlighted that the approach of the western world to migration, family protection, traditional values and the gender problem would be completely different. There will also be a completely different approach to economic relations, the war and the sanctions that follow from the war.
Europe would do well to realise that it will live in a new reality, new things will happen, things that Europeans had never dreamt of, or the Hungarians at most,
he stressed.
In summary, he said we are facing major changes, we will change from war times to an era of peace. Hungary welcomes this development, this is what we have always wanted because Hungary can never gain from periods of war for a variety of geographical, political, economic and military reasons; Hungary can only benefit from peace. He recalled that in the Russo-Ukrainian war Hungary had given the Ukrainians all humanitarian assistance, but had never supplied weapons, and never would, while Hungary would likewise refuse to give money for weapons.
By his account, due to the war, one and a half million Ukrainians have arrived in Hungary; most of them moved on, while according to the latest data, there are around 80,000 Ukrainians staying in Hungary at present. He said Hungary has helped Ukraine with its energy supply, the training of physicians, and in general, saving lives. Hungary has made multiple peace proposals, also now, there is a Hungarian proposal relating to a Christmas ceasefire and a mass prisoner exchange on the table, he added.
Mr Orbán said if the war ends, the sanctions taking their toll on the European economy, too, can finally be phased out. He added that Hungary believes that the sanctions should be phased out as soon as possible, within the widest possible range, fully if possible. If this is accomplished, it will put an end to inflation and welfare can finally return to Europe. He said Hungary stands for this position in the European debate, but is faced with serious opposition because other than Hungary and another country or two – and the big ones are all on the other side – this idea has not yet been given serious consideration.
He said it is extremely harmful that the parties constituting a majority in the European Parliament concluded a pact in which they wrote down that everything should continue as before. Furthermore, according to one proposal, all Member States should be induced to pay in 0.25 per cent of their GDP over a period of five years with a view to supporting Ukraine, he said. According to this proposal, he explained, Hungary would be required to pay in HUF 200 billion every year which is the equivalent of half a month’s pensions. However, at this point in time, we should be talking about how much money we should invest in peace.
In Mr Orbán’s view, the result of the US election is in harmony with the change which has also started in European politics and which has gained new momentum with the establishment of the Patriots party group. A situation has emerged where there is Brussels and it has an opposition; there is a liberal elite and it has an opposition, he said, observing that as a result of the pact adopted in the European Parliament, the Patriots were forced out of all positions that they would have been entitled to according to parliamentary mathematics.
He also said Hungary is fined one million euros a day for protecting its borders because it does not want incidents such as the one that occurred in Magdeburg, and is not letting migrants into the country.
Mr Orbán said if the government feels that there is an important issue on the agenda, such as a need for a new economic policy, it deploys a variety of political instruments to make the necessary changeover successful. One of these, and perhaps the most successful instrument is the national consultation, he observed, adding that the national consultation that has just reached its conclusion focused on the new economic policy, economic neutrality, the strategy of connectivity and the economic action plan of 21 points that follows from the new economic policy. 1,252,000 persons took part in the national consultation which shows that “there is steam, there is interest” in Hungarian public life, he said, adding that this is very important for the government.
“This is the foundation we stand on, this is what gives us support,” he said. He highlighted that after the conclusion of the national consultation, in the spirit of the new economic policy things will happen that had never happened before. They will help employers to provide benefits for young people for the purposes of their rentals and mortgage payments; small businesses will be eligible for capital grants, in return for which “they were prepared to accept” one of the largest wage increase programmes in the history of Hungary as over a period of three years they will implement a 40 per cent minimum wage increase in total, he listed.
He said it is important that in addition to university students, young workers will also be eligible for support as their work, expertise, commitment and efforts, too, deserve to be recognised. It is not only the HUF 4 million offered as an interest-free grant that matters, but also what it expresses, he indicated.
He also mentioned among next year’s important developments that they will inaugurate projects which are significant in their size for the entire national economy. “We inaugurate projects all the time, there are a great many projects under way in the country also now, but projects which we believe will result in a quality change, will bring about a new dimension are rare. A BMW plant is like that,” the Prime Minister said. He recalled that there were only three or four countries in the world where all three major German automotive companies were present with production facilities.
Mr Orbán also spoke about the future directions of Hungarian industrial policy, specifically mentioning electromobility in addition to infocommunications. He described the storage of the energy generated as “the overarching issue of the decade ahead,” the essence of electromobility. When we produce a large part of electricity from green sources, the ability to store the energy so generated will be the biggest industrial innovation, he stressed.
He pointed out that this was the Hungarian position, and so the number of electric cars sold at any particular time did not change the strategic direction. It is important for Hungary that next year large battery manufacturing plants will also start production and that the first Chinese electric car factory established in Europe, too, will be launched, he added.
According to the data available to date, this year real wages have increased by around 10 per cent which had only happened twice in the past 30 years. He added that in the last few months retail sales had already expanded by 4 per cent, housing lending had finally kicked in again, the number of housing transactions was exceptionally high, while the contract portfolio of the construction industry had increased by 32 per cent compared with October 2023.
When we talk about a flying start, a new economic policy and the 21-point economic action plan, we will not start from zero; in the last quarter, we can already see the economic developments which give rise to our optimism,
he indicated.
He stressed that 2025 would be a fantastic year for the Hungarian economy. New times are coming which we recognised in good time and started preparing for well in advance. In this new era, in the era of peace, we will be able to win because we are starting from a good starting point. Those who are still concerned with the war era will find themselves left behind, he explained.
We have high hopes that 2025 will be about Hungary becoming a winner of the era of peace, Mr Orbán stated.
The government has not given up on the plan of transporting migrants to Brussels by bus, he pointed out, stressing that he asked the competent minister “to keep the engines running.” In his view, a situation could arise – on the part of Brussels – at any time to which they can only respond in a single way, by giving migrants one-way tickets, by sending them to Brussels by train or bus.
In his view, they can lawfully do this, this is not a self-serving provocation, but a clear signal that Hungary will defend itself.
He added that they had just hired a reputable law firm through which Hungary will sue Brussels; Hungary wants to take back the money it lost due to the fine that was imposed on account of its migration policy.
He also said it is regrettably also true of acts of terrorism that one act can serve as a catalyst, meaning that at times like this we must keep our wits about us. Hungarian law enforcement agencies have performed well in recent years at Christmas, “I hope that this will be the case also now,” said the Prime Minister.
Mr Orbán said accession to the Eurozone does not feature in his mind as an instrument serving to stabilise the exchange rate of the forint. Without doubt, accession to the Eurozone brings about stability, but foils growth and takes the potential for development away, he added, recommending that Hungary should retain the possibility of swifter development which requires a national currency.
In his view, the Hungarian currency reacts to changes in the world very sensitively which is never good, and these fluctuations are unnatural.
He said “may we never make a bigger mistake than that, rather than 2024, 2025 will be a year of significant economic growth.”
Regarding the deficit of the budget, he indicated that for this year they planned 4.5 per cent and 3.7 per cent for next year, but they will want to keep the deficit below 4 per cent under any circumstances. He argued that it is very difficult to manage a budgetary deficit in excess of 3 per cent because it means that the country remains “on a never-ending debt course.”
He observed that reducing the deficit of the budget as well as the sovereign debt on an ongoing basis must be a strategic goal, rather than a short-term one for Hungary, along with the goal of switching to a lender position at some point in time “so that rather than us borrowing money from others, others should come to us for money.”
He also said he was never a fan of boosting the economy in ways which conveyed financial risks; for instance, the deficit of the budget spiralling out of control or the previously planned course of balance becoming upset.
He further recalled that they had won perhaps every election in such a way that in the election year the deficit of the budget had been lower than in the year before. He regards this as a major professional feat.
Hungary must always avoid political and economic adventures which could upset financial stability. This thought is also embodied in the person of the new central bank governor,
he added.
Regarding the dispute between Péter Magyar and Fidesz Communications Director Tamás Menczer, the Prime Minister said aggressive bullying has emerged in politics. This was not introduced by Mr Menczer, he only accepted the challenge, he did not send out the invitations, and so for this he is not responsible in any way. What they have to concern themselves with is how to handle this situation.
He recalled that it was not the government’s duty to concern itself with the opposition; this must be left to parties. The duty of the government is to concern itself with the country, with the problems, with the challenges and with the people. He highlighted that he would not like the emergence of new political styles and instruments in politics to divert the Hungarian government’s attention away from what truly matters, from its task and duty. Therefore, he does not take part in debates of this kind, he indicated, observing at the same time that he will never debate with anyone whose masters are in Brussels because he debates with their masters.
Mr Orbán said for many long years he has been compelled to endure the situation that Brussels’ agents lead the Hungarian opposition. This has been so ever since Hungary announced that it had a path of its own and would take on the disputes with Brussels. At every election since he has seen that Brussels makes every effort to achieve a change of government in Hungary, and they do not even deny this.
Regarding the elections, he said, based on his experience, always those did well in the elections who remained calm and composed, and “didn’t tamper with” the electoral system minimum a year before the elections.
The Prime Minister said the situation at present is that there are laws which state the population figures, based on which constituencies must be formed. In this regard, the question is not what the parliamentary majority feels like doing, but what ratios the laws dictate, he stated.
There were proposals to extend beyond the amendments necessitated by the relevant legislation, but they managed to remove these in various phases of the debate, meaning that only those changes were implemented that were required by law, he said, indicating that they are not preparing for any further amendments.
In answer to a question, he stressed that children’s homes must be given enough money so that they can provide safe, healthy and quality meals for children as expected in Hungary. These funds must be available, and if these were not enough now, then “whoever is responsible will evidently ask for more.” The government does not cut corners to the detriment of children, he stressed.
He also highlighted that the government had “epoch-making economic policy experts,” and the minimum expectation they are required to meet is to raise the funds in the economy which are necessary for the operation of the social, health care and education systems. “Now that György Matolcsy is leaving, I can confidently say that an epoch-making economic policy expert is leaving the management of the central bank. He has always taken care of this,” he said, praising the departing central bank governor.
He added that during Mihály Varga’s term as finance minister, the figures of the budget were in order, and he sincerely hopes that this will remain the case also under Márton Nagy.
There is always money wherever it is badly required, he pointed out, mentioning railway stations as an example. Railway services will remain under state control; they are planning to involve private capital in the operation and refurbishment of the buffets and shops of stations, he said, indicating that he supports the transport minister’s proposal.
He took the view that the Hungarian economy was fully competitive. At the same time, he said in continuation, there are problems, energy is an Achilles heel of Hungarian economic competitiveness.
He said competitiveness was badly affected by the fact that before the war Hungary spent seven billion euros on the importation of energy; however, after the war and the sanctions, this went up to 17 billion. 10 billion euros – the equivalent of HUF 4,000 billion – spilt out of the Hungarian economy, he said.
In his view, we must now make every effort – and this is one of the most important elements of the industrial policy strategy – to ensure that Hungary has access to energy at the lowest possible price.
He also said there are news reports in the international press regarding the fact that there is a wage explosion in Hungary. “I would rather call it a wage pop, but I sincerely hope that this will turn into a more robust increase,” he added.
In answer to another question, he also spoke about the fact that a number of factors affect the exchange rate of the national currency, including speculation as well as the government’s performance, the general financial situation, stability, the deficit of the budget and the state of other currencies.
He stressed that case-to-case factors now played a much bigger role in the fluctuation of the forint than the actual state of the Hungarian economy. “It’s not possible that the forint fluctuates by 10 to 15 forints, while the Hungarian economy remains the same. I don’t think that the underlying structure of the Hungarian economy can change from Monday to Thursday,” he said.
Mr Orbán also said Hungary has a robust agriculture and a food industry that is developing at a pace that surprises everyone.
He warned, however, that the entry of Ukraine into the EU “would destroy” Hungary’s and possibly even the EU’s agriculture. This is why a strong alliance is now being forged among agrarian countries which intends to rationalise Ukraine’s attempts to seek accession to the European Union “so that we won’t be battered to death by what may come from over there,” he observed.
Mr Orbán said they developed the legal rules relating to guest workers in a way which made departure from the country enforceable. This is why they gave every country that seeks to send guest workers to Hungary a transitional period for passing legislation about taking guest workers back. From 1 January, we will not accept guest workers from countries which fail to pass such legislation and fail to sign the relevant agreement with Hungary. Thanks to this, from 1 January, it will not be possible to bring guest workers to Hungary from 10 or so countries, he explained.
In answer to a question relating to the Hungarian peace mission, he said he can hardly wait for someone to finally take the baton from him, and this will happen with the entry into office of the new US president. He observed that with the peace mission Hungary had undertaken a role well beyond its capabilities, and so with the emergence of Donald Trump on the scene, “the right order of things” will be restored.
Regarding EU funds and the fact that the country may forfeit HUF 400 billion, he said Hungary will not forfeit any funds. “You lose your handkerchief, not your funds, there is no such thing,” he stated. He said they will defend the funds Hungary is entitled to. He highlighted that they had already defended EUR 12.5 billion, it is already there on the account, and Hungary will obtain all the funds it is entitled to.
Responding to the fact that former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has been elected as new leader of the European Conservatives and Reformers, Mr Orbán said he has a close relationship of a decade reaching the depths of friendship with Mateusz Morawiecki and he already had talks with him.
He highlighted that while “the two herds” are different – the Patriots and the European Conservatives – on the most important issues there is agreement between the two party formations. During the period ahead, the number of joint initiatives will increase and in the longer term they may even forge some kind of institutional cooperation. When this comes into being, “we’ll open a bottle of champagne, and we’ll overtake the European socialists in the European Parliament.” And “once we have grown and our gravitational force has also increased, […] we will also take in parties from the European People’s Party and will become the biggest,” he added.
Regarding his visit to Bulgaria the day before, Mr Orbán said energy supplies reaching Hungary via Ukrainian territories may run into problems, and it is better to consider the option that nothing will come from there. With the assistance of and in cooperation with Bulgaria and Romania, we have our routes and sources which ensure that there will not be any problems in Hungarian households and in the Hungarian economy, he said.
At the same time, in answer to another question, he indicated that the government would not abandon its energy procurement plans, and would maintain continued negotiations with both the Russians and the Ukrainians.
He also said Lukoil, a private Russian firm wants to sell one of its refineries. It invited an open tender and one of the seven bidding companies is Mol, the only company from the European Union. A decision will be made by the Bulgarians, he added.
In Romania, the Hungarian power group MVM indeed bought out one of E.ON’s companies, Mr Orbán confirmed in answer to another question, pointing out that there are issues that have yet to be clarified, and the Romanian Prime Minister, too, suggested that they should set up a task force to clarify those outstanding questions.
Regarding the presidential election in Romania, he said in his view Romania came into possession of highly valuable knowledge. They know something we do not; something happened there which has not yet happened here. He asked them to share all information, and the Romanian Prime Minister promised to do so after the enquiries have been completed.
Mr Orbán said he does not wish to raise the issue of the political asylum of former Polish deputy justice minister Marcin Romanowski to a prime ministerial level. He said Hungary seeks to keep its conflicts with Poland at a manageable level, and therefore he has not commented on the state of the rule of law in Poland either.
There is a procedure behind the decision that must be observed, including “thorough stations, barriers even.” They commissioned a study which comprehensively explores the situation in Poland, the minister who has the right to decide on the issue of asylum familiarised themselves with the content of the study, and made their decision on that basis.
“Our decision is not unknown, this is an internationally known legal institution, and I’m not divulging any secrets by stating that I don’t think this was the last one,” said the Prime Minister. Regarding Hungarian-Polish relations, he indicated that the two countries had shared interests, especially in Brussels, which neither country was able to enforce on its own, only together. This is an interstate relationship which must be rescued from the realm of party relations because the latter with the Polish governing party are in a terrible state.
The Prime Minister justified the loan provided by Hungary for North Macedonia under highly favourable terms and conditions by stating that Hungary has a vested interest in there being political stability in the region situated south of it. He observed that they had also provided loans for Bosnia, and had been engaged in talks with Albania as well.
Concerning the situation in Gaza, he stressed that it was unacceptable that people were being kept in cellars as hostages, while regarding Syria he took the view that a change had started, but they saw no one being in control of the processes under way. Here, multiple countries will have to cooperate in order to ensure that what happens next will lead to consolidation, rather than to the development of a second terrorist state, he added.
In the context of the possible expansion of the NATO budget, he indicated that increasing defence expenditures to above two per cent of the gross domestic product was already an extremely heavy burden on Hungary. He would like to see a change in the situation which would allow for a reduction; however, the world is heading in the opposite direction.
Everyone has recently treated the two per cent as a kind of loyalty issue as allies, and so while “we sweated blood,” we squeezed this out of ourselves, he stressed.
If we have to raise the two per cent, that “shoots the Hungarian economy in the lung,” if there is such a demand, then we can only envisage a gradual increase, he said, adding that he would like to avoid this, and he has not yet spoken to US president-elect Donald Trump about this issue.
In answer to a question about the national consultation, Mr Orbán said based on the great interest it is clear that members of the Hungarian public are interested most in economic issues above all others. He underlined that the result of the national consultation facilitated, simplified and confirmed the government’s efforts; they will continue the consultations.
The Prime Minister dismissed news reports that under the leadership of János Lázár the Information Office had monitored staff members of the European Anti-Fraud Office as mere rumours.
In answer to a question, he said the refurbished building of the Ministry of Finance will be inaugurated next February, and the Ministry of the Interior will move in (as the Ministry of Finance will merge with the Ministry for National Economy from January). They will also explore the possibility of the Ministry of Defence moving into the current building of the Ministry of the Interior.
He said at present the state pays HUF 60 billion annually for the rental of government properties, and it is unhealthy that the state is present on this market with such a weight. The long-term goal is for state institutions to move into state-owned properties, he said, adding that while this is not as important as the issue of hospitals, education or the judiciary, this must also be taken care of. It is not difficult to turn this into anti-government propaganda, but this is a reasonable solution also financially, he laid down.
Answering a question relating to his own and his family’s pecuniary situation, the Prime Minister recalled that since 1990 his asset declarations had been in the public domain, while there was another law relating to the financial situation of his family members which they had always complied with. “My life is an open book, I’m always happy to be at everyone’s disposal,” he said.
He stressed that the prime minister must not engage in business affairs; he must confine himself to public affairs and public interests. He regards moderation as a virtue, but does not give others advice, he observed.
In answer to a question relating to Fidesz’s “ordeal” related to the effects of the clemency case, he said he would like to see a similar result in 2026 as in the latest European Parliament elections, Fidesz receiving 45 per cent of the votes, while the runner-up 30 per cent.
He said the dispute that erupted in the Reformed Church in connection with the clemency case will be taken care of by the church itself.
He highlighted, however, that not a single political decision-maker can shift responsibility for their decisions onto their advisors. “Decisions are made by politicians, responsibility is taken by politicians. Advisors take moral responsibility for whether they provided good advice or not. But this is not our business. And it’s most definitely not worth turning it into a church affair,” he stated.
He recalled that churches were separate from the state; they operate without any kind of state intervention. The church debated and settled this affair within its own circles, and perhaps by now things have cooled off there as well, he indicated.
