“We received a piece of paper, a document which I’m not entitled to divulge to the public” but it is about the fact they accepted the Ukrainians’ demand for 800 billion dollars and which says fine, this is how it should be. It also presents plans about how this money should be raised which effectively amount to indebtedness, the Prime Minister stated, explaining the details.
Mr Orbán said the Ukrainian demand is that the EU should give them USD 800 billion in the next ten years and they will additionally need military expenditures in the magnitude of 700 billion dollars.
“It was at any rate a kick in the chest with the force of a nuclear bomb that so far we believed that the EU would try to back out of this, to soften things or to reduce their demands, but no. They accepted the whole demand as it came from Ukraine, in its entirety,” the Prime Minister said.
He highlighted that the stakes of the upcoming parliamentary elections were the highest, outside Hungary, in Ukraine, given that the document mentioned stated that Ukraine must join the European Union in 2027. Meaning that it is not only about USD 800 billion, but also about the date of their accession, and Hungary opposes this, he pointed out.
“I don’t think there will be a parliament in Hungary in the next one hundred years that will vote for the Ukrainians entering the European Union,” Mr Orbán said, underlining that the Ukrainians believe that the only way to remove this obstacle called Hungary is if there is a pro-Ukraine government in Hungary.
They are working on this, he pointed out. We do not want them to enter the EU, we are opposed to the Ukrainians’ membership. Tisza and DK [Democratic Coalition] want to let them in, and we must therefore accept that the Ukrainians will play an active role in the Hungarian campaign because they have an elementary interest in there being a change of governments in Hungary.
“This doesn’t make me happy, it’s not polite, even if understandable, but we’ll cope with this, too,” he laid down.
He said the European Commission would give Ukraine an enormous amount of money from the new EU budget, meaning that rather than taking out a separate loan, they would provide financial assistance for Ukraine from the EU’s budget. “We want to prevent this. We want a patriotic government in Hungary that will not support Ukraine’s accession and will likewise not support a budget that wants to send money to Ukraine,” he underlined.
Answering a question related to The Board of Peace formed at the Davos World Economic Forum, Mr Orbán said The Board of Peace was set up because the old organisations do not work anymore, but there are many troubles in the world, and someone has to restore peace.
“Here, what causes some confusion is how we should relate to a new body which was established with a view to creating peace,” he said. This organisation has a better chance to achieve success and peace than the old ones which have evidently failed, the Prime Minister pointed out, adding that “there were only two of us from Europe, the Bulgarians and we, who said that this is a good cause.”
In his words, no one can guarantee that this endeavour will succeed, but the Americans launched into it with much energy, and “we have the feeling that this may turn into something good.” Those who are not in this will indeed be left out, he added.
He said if The Board of Peace were only about Gaza, almost all the countries of the European Union should be there. However, the Americans drafted this document, “also with our approval,” in such a way that it goes beyond that: the first task is to consolidate Gaza, the second task is to restore peace in Ukraine, and then the rest, he said.
“We believe that this is a good approach,” the Prime Minister added.
In answer to a question, Mr Orbán said there will be a peace summit in Budapest sooner or later. “We don’t know yet exactly when, how and who the actors will be, but this has not been taken off the agenda,” the Prime Minister said, adding in continuation that “it’s there, in the notes of the Americans, and it’s also there in our notepad. There will be a peace summit in Hungary. Whether in a composition of two or three, we don’t know.”
Regarding relations between the EU and the United States, he said independence takes strength, and this is not available today. Meaning that Europe is a continent today which is unable to defend itself militarily. It is a continent whose competitiveness is declining. It is a continent which is being destabilised by people flooding in from outside, from different civilisations, and Europe is unable to control this situation. Europe is not in the position to consider its own future in security without American cooperation, he added.
“Common sense is pushing us and also the Americans towards cooperation,” he said.
In the context of the debate related to Greenland, he said the question “was swiftly settled” as an agreement has been reached that there will be no tariffs, there will be no military intervention either, and everyone has a vested interest in minimising the conflict. Meaning that everyone is trying to put the fire out, rather than feeding it.
Regarding the fact that on Thursday MEPs of the Tisza Party were absent from the no-confidence vote that was held at the Strasbourg plenary session of the European Parliament against President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Mr Orbán said “I belong to the old school. If there is an issue, you have to state an opinion. If you keep evading the topic, you will eventually pay the price. That’s what I think. There is an issue, a no-confidence motion, and either you stand with someone or you say that they must go now because they made mistakes, as a result of which they’re no longer worthy of our trust. Evading the topic and beating about the bush may seem like a clever thing to do, but I learnt in politics that it never pays off,” Mr Orbán added.
