Orbán: Hungary set to emerge stronger from crisis

Hungary could emerge stronger from the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus epidemic, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday.

If Hungary does not allow the epidemic to again “shoot up” and “it stays alert with border control”, if investments and job creation get supported and if Hungary does not allow the West to treat it as a “dupe”, then the country could come out stronger from the crisis, Orbán told public Kossuth radio.

If the right preparations are made and health-care workers work well, then a second wave could be prevented, he said, and expressed thanks to them on the occasion of Semmelweis Day.

In response to a question concerning a possible second wave of the epidemic, he said Hungary had successfully overcome the first wave but “only a battle has been won, not the war”. Since Hungary will be affected by the surrounding environment, clever decisions should be made for instance when people go on holiday, the prime minister said.

“Perhaps this time it’s best to choose Lake Balaton,” he added.

The government’s task is to keep close watch, instead of taking a holiday now, he said, adding that “we must stay in office for quite a few more weeks”.

The government will also refuse to yield to pressure from Brussels to allow uncontrolled entry to persons from more and more countries, he said. Besides European Union citizens, only Serbians are allowed to enter without checks and crossing Hungary is only possible on transit corridors for citizens of other countries, he added.

Efforts must also be made to prevent increased migration to threaten Hungary’s health-care situation, he said. The number of infections has increased in countries located along the traditional migrant routes which means that border protection now also means health protection, he added. Orbán also said that the activities of human smugglers had increased unexpectedly.

“We need our police and soldiers … What we have witnessed in western Europe and America, that societies and politicians have betrayed their own police, must not be allowed in central Europe,” he said.

Commenting on the EU court ruling declaring that Hungary’s transit zones amounted to detention, he said Hungary’s response was to close down these zones and make border control stricter.

“If we want Hungary to remain a peaceful, safe and calm place then we must act against migration with the utmost strictness,” he added.

In the current national consultation survey, questions have been included about the links between migration and the pandemic “because there are a few interconnected points”, he said.

Commenting on the EU’s “recovery assistance” fund, he said “this is actually aid granted by us to southerners”. Central Europe which is financially much better organised must consider whether it wants to help richer countries that did not suffer from communism and joined the EU at an earlier stage, he added.