European Commission’s days are numbered, says PM Orbán

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, in his regular Friday interview to public broadcaster Kossuth Radio, said the European Commission‘s days are numbered, noting that its mandate is set to expire next May.

Orbán reacted to the recently-launched infringement procedures against Hungary over its “Stop Soros” law (read more detils here) and related constitutional amendments as well as the EC’s proposal to pay 6,000 euros per migrant to member states that accept them. The prime minister dismissed the EC’s decisions, saying that the executive body was “out of time” to see them through. Now it is all about finding a way to make it to May, he said.

He said the question of how the EU spends people’s money was one of principle, calling the idea to give the money to migrants “a dangerous line of thought”.

Orbán said the future EC should not punish countries that protect the EU’s borders.

Hungary among world’s most stable countries

The prime minister called Hungary one of the world’s most politically stable countries.

He said there was no other country where a government could secure three consecutive election victories with a parliamentary supermajority.

The advantage of political stability can be used to make it clear to the world that the Hungarian government’s policies are predictable, Orbán said, explaining his busy diplomatic schedule over the past month during which he met a number of world leaders.

He said the last several weeks were successful ones for Hungary, adding that his recent high-level meetings would make the country stronger and have a positive effect on the economy.

Investors can also rest assured that there are no political risks to their endeavours in Hungary, the prime minister added.

As regards next year’s budget, Orbán said that as long as Hungary had a Christian Democratic government, the purchasing power of pensions would be preserved. He said his government had given back to pensioners the money that the previous, Socialist-led governments “had taken away” from them.

Hungary today has a stable economy, Orbán said, attributing it to a model his government had introduced in 2010. There have however been “dark clouds” appearing in the global economy, he said, adding that nobody had the courage to speak publicly about “a crisis looming”. Orbán said the 2019 budget had been drafted with increased reserves to shield the country against possible “unfavourable changes in the global economy”.