Mr Orbán said yesterday evening he had the impression that there are now enough countries opposing the plan to constitute a blocking minority. They may have another go, but there is no chance to obtain a majority for this.
“I think this has been removed from the agenda, though there may be some more rearguard action. We must start discussing the whole thing again from scratch,” he indicated.
In answer to the question of whether he would be able to support a collective EU borrowing scheme which does not involve Hungary’s financial responsibility, he said it is as yet not know what other proposals will emerge “instead of the dead frozen assets.” He highlighted, however, that there is a passage in the Hungarian Constitution which lays down that the Hungarian government can only consent to any borrowing which results in payment liabilities for Hungary with Parliament’s authorisation.
“I don’t have such a mandate, and I don’t think Parliament in Hungary would ever authorise any prime minister to indebt Hungary through a loan of the European Union,” he observed. “Meaning that this path, that Ukraine should be financed from a common loan, is not feasible for Hungary under any circumstances, but beyond the legal restrictions, I myself disagree with it because I believe that rather than financing the war, we should finance peace,” he stressed.
He highlighted that the plan to take the assets of one of the warring parties away and to give them to the other warring party was nothing short of a declaration of war. We must not interfere with this war, we must stay out of it, and should work for peace.
“I would not like to see a European Union that is at war. If we give money, then the European Union will find itself at war,” the Prime Minister warned.
Regarding the Wednesday decision of the European Parliament, Mr Orbán said the decision which bans the use of Russian gas and oil for all Member States is unlawful. This means for Hungary that, should this happen, it will not be possible to protect the scheme of reduced household energy bills, he pointed out, adding that in this case, the household energy bills of families would minimum double, but may well triple.
In the Prime Minister’s view, “there was a major battle” on Wednesday. “Our Fidesz-KDNP [Christian Democratic People’s Party] MEPs stood up for Hungary, they fought for Hungary; regrettably, the others didn’t. And Tisza opted for the sly path, meaning that they chose not to be there at all,” he recalled.
Regarding the Thursday farmer demonstration, he said farmers are 100 per cent right, adding that their number one problem is the Mercosur package which would amount to a free trade agreement with Latin American countries and would “kill farmers.” Hungary is one of those countries which do not support the Mercosur deal. There were serious professional debates about this in Hungary, and as a result, the Hungarian position is that we do not support this, he indicated.
Mr Orbán recalled that this deal would require a qualified majority. He believes that there are enough ‘Mercosur opponents’ and this will make it impossible for the EU to sign the agreement. The plan is that the President of the European Commission is to sign this deal this week. “I think we must prevent this here, and we will be able to,” he said.
In continuation, he explained that the other problem of farmers was the Green Deal with which they over-regulated agricultural activities to a degree which created significant extra costs and a competitive disadvantage for European farmers. “So, I have to say that with the Mercosur deal they are preparing to shoot European farmers in the foot, but before that, they tie a rope around their legs so that they don’t stand a chance in global competition,” he concluded.
Therefore, farmers are absolutely right, the Hungarian government stands with farmers 100 per cent, Mr Orbán stated in Brussels.
