“It would be better if the President of the Commission packed her bags and quietly left Brussels to make way for those who can make better policies,” Viktor Orbán said to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Radio Kossuth Rádió.
The Hungarian prime minister warned that the European Union was heading for disaster under her leadership and that profound changes were needed in key areas. In his opinion, von der Leyen was not capable of meeting the political challenges facing Europe today.
He particularly criticized the green transition in connection with the energy crisis and rising prices, which he believes are fatal for the European economy.
He cited sanctions and trade policy as further weaknesses and also criticized Brussels for the unfavorable customs agreement with the US. In his opinion, the approach to Ukraine and the migration agenda also require a fundamental overhaul.
Tradition of Hungarian politics
In contrast to the Union's policies, he emphasized that Hungarian national politics stands firm as a rock on the national interests of the people.
“The Tisza Party would not exist if it were not funded by Brussels. All the non-governmental organizations and media behind them were funded by Brussels and, before that, by Washington, until President Trump put an end to it. Now this is happening from Brussels,” he said of Hungary's strongest opposition party.
According to Orbán, there is a “center of power” in Brussels. “And it holds some Hungarian party leaders by the hand—to put it politely—it pressures them, blackmails them, keeps them in a vulnerable position, may have already changed their convictions, and wants to bring them to power so that Brussels' migration policy, war policy, economic policy, and energy policy can also be implemented in Hungary,” he added.
Migration pact
In May last year, the ministers of the European Union member states adopted a new pact on migration and asylum, which represents a massive overhaul of the eurozone's existing migration and asylum laws. The aim is to better manage legal migration, create efficient and uniform procedures, and ensure a fair distribution of the burden between member states.
“The migration pact is a trick. It does something, but it doesn't solve the problem. There is only one way to solve the problem. It must be stipulated that no one may enter the territory of the European Union without personal authorization,” Orbán said.
He outlined that the only solution to migration into the Union's territory is for the person to wait outside the borders, submit an application, and only enter the European Union after receiving a positive response.
“It cannot be that they enter, pretend to be migrants or refugees, are already on Union territory, and then cannot be expelled, even if it turns out that they actually have no right to stay here. If they continue like this, they will destroy themselves,” he said.
Poland is up to its neck in war
In the interview, he also commented on the incident in Poland when Russian drones violated its airspace. The Polish army neutralized them and at the same time Poland activated Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
"Wednesday's event is an example or a parable of the dangerous circumstances in which we live every day without being aware of it. But when problems arise in the form of a few drones, say in Poland, then suddenly everyone takes notice. This could have happened yesterday, the day before yesterday, or even tomorrow. And that goes for both Poland and Hungary," he added, pointing out that the danger of war is imminent.
However, Hungary is not at war, while Poland, according to Orbán, is very much at war – up to its neck. “We are holding back, this is not our war, we are not participating in it, but we are neighbors of a country where war is raging, and that means a constant and ongoing threat of war.”
According to the Hungarian prime minister, however, the world has other problems related to Russia.
“For example, global energy supplies. Is it currently possible to buy energy from Russia or not? Is this subject to sanctions or not? The Americans recently tried to impose sanctions on India. Can companies that consider themselves Western be involved in the extraction of Russian energy? Can we also participate in this business? Can we invest in Russia? Can we accept Russian investments?” he explained.