Interview – Orbán: Hungary’s economy could thrive without EU funding

The government has managed to enforce the declared will of Hungarians who voted in the European Parliament elections by getting people into top European Union posts who respect nations and oppose migration, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a public radio interview on Friday.

Orbán insisted that many of Europe’s problems were linked to leaders in the EU who supported migration.

He said

Socialist candidate Frans Timmermans, “the candidate of [US billionaire George] Soros” had been torpedoed. Meanwhile, the European People’s Party’s Manfred Weber, the prime minister added, would not end up as head of the European Commission because he had spoken “disrespectfully about the citizens of several countries, including Hungary”.

“Westerners and central Europe agreed on German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen,” Orbán added. The Visegrad Group had ranked her third on its list, and there would now be a chance that the commission presidency would make Europe strong while respecting national interests, he said. He also highlighted the economic performance and political stability of the group that “promotes the interests of 63 million people with due weight”.

Orbán said central Europe was backed by Croatia and Romania when it came to nominating top European officials.

Concerning von der Leyen, Orbán said that selecting “a German mother of seven” in itself showed “the winds of change” in Brussels.

He added that it would be premature to celebrate at this stage, however, because the past five years had witnessed “many mistakes in Brussels” concerning terrorism, public security, migration and the economy, which “need to be remedied”.

Answering a question concerning ruling Fidesz MEP Livia Jaroka’s support for opposition Democratic Coalition MEP Klára Dobrev’s candidacy for EP vice president — a gesture unreciprocated by Dobrev — Orbán said “the right is a nationalist force while the left is internationalist” and “standing up for the homeland is a moral obligation on the right, but this is obviously not the case on the left.”

“For the left … harming Hungary is not too high a price to pay for weakening its right wing,” he added.

Concerning the fiscal policy of the EU in the next five years, Orbán said that

Hungary is no longer dependent on EU funding, adding that Hungary’s economy could thrive without those funds. “But, of course, it is easier to succeed if the EU budget also supports Hungary’s goals.”