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Mr Orbán stressed: we must not do this, we should say no to Ukraine’s EU accession.
He added that it was not possible to stop the process at the end; he would not say that it was entirely impossible, but it was very difficult at any rate. Therefore, it is better to clarify things right at the beginning, and to not allow things to proceed to the phase where the whole of Europe “is already on our chest,” demanding that Hungary say yes. Either we stop the process now, or later we will not be able to, the Prime Minister stressed.
He pointed out that the time of Ukraine’s accession as a member of the EU also depended on us Hungarians, and we were very reluctant to say yes to this.
He added that pursuant to the EU’s decision – which was announced by the leader of the Commission before the entire European public, in a plenary meeting of the European Parliament – Ukraine must be admitted to the organisation by 2030. “The order has been issued,” every party in the whole of Europe which supports the Commission speaks in the same voice, arguing that Ukraine must be admitted to the European Union, he said, laying down that the government of Hungary is opposed to this.
He observed that the Hungarian opposition had organised a vote on this, “in fact, in a rather fair manner,” and the Hungarian party concerned was the only “Brussels power party” which had consulted its own supporters about Ukraine’s accession, fifty-something per cent responding in the affirmative. This is an ongoing, real debate, not only in Europe, but also here in Hungary, he pointed out.
He highlighted that one party said Ukraine should be admitted as ordered by the President of the Commission, by 2030, and there was another position represented by the national side which said that Hungary was more important than Ukraine, and Ukraine’s swift admission would destroy Hungary and would bankrupt us economically.
In the context of the Russo-Ukrainian war, Mr Orbán pointed out that it would be good to finally put an end to the war psychosis in Europe. He observed that he had been hoping for a swifter process; he thought the moment would come sooner when the Europeans admitted that without the United States there was no point in supporting Ukraine. Without the United States, Ukraine has no chance to even preserve its existing positions, let alone recapture any, he said.
He added: he thought everyone would realise that they had a single chance and duty, namely to support the US president’s peace efforts, but this is not happening.
Twenty-five of the European Union’s 27 countries – with the exception of the Slovaks and the Hungarians – decided in favour of the continuation of the war and intensifying the extent of their military assistance. He recalled that only the other day the European Union, including the Hungarian opposition parties in it, had adopted a decision about sending Ukraine another major package of military aid worth billions. In the Prime Minister’s view, quite evidently, there is a major war psychosis which seeks to follow an independent European war strategy, instead of supporting the Americans.
The Prime Minister stressed that neither could we support Ukraine’s EU accession on account of the fact that we must defend the results we had achieved so far.
He highlighted that new members were usually admitted to the EU because “we who are already inside benefit from it.” This was the case with the admission of Hungary and other states in the region.
“If we were to admit Ukraine and we were to benefit from it, I would gladly say yes,” he stated, adding that he is sure that the very opposite of this is true. “Why should we fare badly when we could also fare well, or could at least protect all the results we have achieved so far?” Mr Orbán asked.
He stressed that in the event of the free influx of Ukrainian workforce, “people will find it extremely hard to protect their own jobs,” and as a result, one of the greatest achievements of the past 15 years – full employment – “could disappear into thin air within a year or two.”
Mr Orbán added that Ukraine’s accession would totally rearrange the financial foundations of European agriculture, and so “there would be no money left for Hungarian farmers,” many hundreds of thousands of families would find themselves in an extremely poor situation. Hungarian agriculture would shrink by magnitudes, Mr Orbán said, listing the expected consequences.
He recalled that even allowing the transit of Ukrainian products had caused domestic grain producers difficulties when “small quantities fell off the back of a lorry or two, and somehow remained here.”
He also said, in addition to the influx of large quantities of products of poor quality, it would also cause serious problems that supporting Ukraine would absorb all EU funds, and additionally, Hungary – now a country eligible for grants – would become a net contributor, meaning that “we, too, would end up financing Ukraine’s EU membership.”
“I don’t think this is in our best interests, and Hungary has the right to stand up for its own interests,” the Prime Minister said.
Regarding Tisza MEP Kinga Kollár’s Brussels statement, Mr Orbán said the Tisza Party MEP “threw into the faces of the Hungarian people with Gyurcsány-style insolence that she, together with her fellow party members, is working hard in Brussels every day to prevent Hungary from accessing the funds it is entitled to,” and of this she is even proud.
The Prime Minister stressed that it was unacceptable and “impossible” that while 4.7 million people in Hungary worked hard for their own and their country’s advancement, “there are a few dozen people” in Brussels who worked for the very opposite and for this they even got paid.
Hungary is entitled to funds, and must obtain these funds, Mr Orbán stressed.
The Prime Minister indicated that they had already succeeded in obtaining EUR 13 billion as a result of serious political struggles; this is how the government had managed to meaningfully increase the salaries of teachers from local fiscal funds and EU funds, and these salaries could be increased further. He said there still is another ten-something billion euros that must be brought home, and he is fighting for the disbursement of these funds without Brussels setting any further conditions.
“Naturally, Brussels says that if you let migrants in, if you gave up child protection, if you switched from being pro-peace to being pro-war, and if you toed the line, you could easily obtain these funds. But I say ‘not at this price,’ we would rather fight for them,” Mr Orbán said.
He said they will bring these funds home at any cost, “Hungary has decision-making powers which the European Union needs, and they can’t do without us.” This takes time and calls for much fighting, but not surrender or submission under any circumstances. If anyone brings this money home by granting Brussels’ demands, by doing so, they turn Hungary into a Brussels colony. “We will not become a colony,” the Prime Minister stated.
Mr Orbán said the Tisza Party has an agreement with leader of the European People’s Party Manfred Weber: they admitted the Tisza Party, the Tisza Party receives support from the European People’s Party, for instance, in the form of the suspension of the disbursement of the funds Hungary is entitled to and the worsening of the Hungarian people’s living standards, thereby helping Tisza into power, while in return Tisza will comply with all of Brussels’ wishes.
He took the view that as a result, “Hungary will no longer be a migrant-free country because they will let migrants in; there will be no child protection in Hungary anymore because they will let LGBTQ propaganda loose; and Hungary will no longer be pro-peace because we will toe the line and will support Ukraine’s military operations.”
The Prime Minister said a further expectation on Brussels’ part is that the Tisza Party support Ukraine’s swift accession to the European Union which is now part of the party’s programme.
Mr Orbán highlighted that with these measures, “Hungary will cease to exist as an independent state for a long time.” Those who know Hungarian history know precisely that Hungarian politics can only be successful if it is independent; it it’s not independent, it will surely not be successful,” he pointed out.
He said as an independent country there is a chance to live in welfare. If the country loses its independence, it will be pushed back into the inferior state of a poor and ransacked colonial country, “this is the lesson of Hungarian history, I think the Hungarians understand this,” he pointed out.
In answer to a question related to the fact that during the long Easter weekend 29 per cent more guests stayed in domestic hotels compared with last year, the Prime Minister said, on the one hand, many Hungarians had the money to spend Easter with their families, using the services of hotel and catering establishments. On the other, it also means that many Hungarian families live off operating hotel facilities and restaurants, meaning that they are connected to tourism. There are four hundred thousand Hungarian families living off tourism, he added.
The Prime Minister stressed that if tourism did well, then “things go well” in a robust sector of the Hungarian economy, and people had access to a safe living through tourism.
Praising Pope Francis who died on Easter Monday, Mr Orbán highlighted that in times of war, the greatest legacy that the warring parties – in fact, the entire European, western and even human civilisation – could receive was peace itself.
Pope Francis was a man of peace. This means, on the one hand, that “he was a gentle person,” and on the other that “he was unshakeably brave,” he said.
Elaborating, the Prime Minister said in the past three years, standing for peace had provoked daily attacks, stigmatisation and ignominy, and the pro-war propaganda network had kept the Holy Father himself under constant fire, trying to induce him to abandon his pro-peace position, but he had refused to.
For us Hungarians this was especially important because in the past three years, until President Donald Trump’s victory, in the whole western world only the two of us – Hungary and the Vatican – stood up continuously for peace, Mr Orbán said, adding that if you are alone – and we were always alone in the European Council – the significance of every friendship and support of every kind increases. This is also true of Pope Francis’ who continuously called upon Hungary to bravely stand up for peace, and in fact, his support “lent justice, peace, meaning the cause that we Hungarians ourselves stood for, some supernatural weight,” the Prime Minister pointed out.
He said it was unprecedented for a head of the Catholic Church to visit the Hungarians three times; twice “in Little Hungary” and once in Csíksomlyó. This also had a personal motive, and he did not hide that. In Argentina – where he came from before coming to Rome – he worked together with Hungarian nuns and Hungarian believers, and therefore he knew the Hungarians. “He was one of those who decided that the Hungarians were good people, decent people,” said Mr Orbán. He added that upon their meetings in person, he felt that, beyond shared faith, Pope Francis shared “a different type of sympathy, based on nationality. He was an Argentine who liked Hungarians,” the Prime Minister said.
He highlighted that the Hungarian Catholic Church played an extremely important role in the life of Hungarian society. It undertakes an enormous and irreplaceable role in the organisation of the lives of the Hungarian people, operating a very large number of schools, nursery schools, vocational institutions and an enormous university, while it is also involved in providing care for the elderly and the needy as well as in the integration of the Roma community.
He also said he will eagerly follow events in the Vatican during the period ahead as the person of the leader of the Catholic Church has an impact on Hungary as well.
