4th Lámfalussy Lectures conference held in Budapest

Budapest, January 23 (MTI) – Hungary’s economy has developed spectacularly since the central bank “is not in opposition”, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told the Lámfalussy Lectures conference under way in Budapest on Monday.

Orbán praises economic development

Earlier, when the National Bank of Hungary was “in opposition”, politics and business were “going in different directions” and “Hungary suffered greatly and unnecessarily,” Orbán said.

On the subject of the European Union, Orbán said the community must “let go of the illusion of federalism” and allow the continent to have “several poles”. He argued that Europe was weakening and could not meet its primary goals concerning the euro, the community’s security policy or the Eurasian economic area. He insisted that “Brussels has become obsessed by the Utopian idea of a Europe above all nations”. But, he said, “there is no European nation; there are the nations of Europe”.

Concerning the United States, Orbán said that the EU should seek a new agreement because the EU-US free trade deal was “dead”. He added that a deal should be negotiated with China, and “the Russia issue should also be revisited”, arguing that there were plenty of opportunities in a “multipolar world”. The prime minister said China would remain a key player in the world economy for many decades to come. He said Russia had survived “the West’s attempts” to “isolate” and “dismantle the regime” there. He said it had also survived low oil prices and the sanctions.

 

 

Lámfalussy conference

 

 

Orbán said it did not make sense for Europe to ignore the strength and opportunities presented by Russia.

He said Europe should have more self-confidence, adding that the continent should be able to protect itself without any outside assistance. Right now it is incapable of doing so, he said. Orban welcomed French conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon’s visit on Monday to Berlin, where the matter of a joint European military alliance is expected to be one of the main topics of discussion.

Orbán said one of the biggest questions regarding the future of Europe was whether it could defend itself without the help of the US. “The key to solving this [problem] seems straightforward, and it is a German-French defence and military alliance, joint military and common security system,” the prime minister said.

Outlining Europe’s problems, he said that the parts of the continent where many migrants had settled had also seen an immediate increase in crime. He said migration and the settlement of migrants was not the way to solve Europe’s demographic challenges, arguing that nations that are incapable of sustaining their birthrates “don’t even deserve to survive”.

Assessing the state of Hungary’s economy, Orban said the country had become a “success story”. He said the four elements of “the Hungarian model” were political stability, a disciplined fiscal policy, a society based on labour instead of welfare and the policy of opening up to the East. Regarding the latter, Orbán said Europeans must understand that “we can’t aspire to open up to other countries in the East, say, China, and then proceed to lecture them every morning about human rights.” Respect is the foundation of the policy of opening to the East, and this precedes ideology, he insisted. Hungarians are “in a better position” because “we are an eastern people who has taken up Christianity. This allows us to have a unique perspective and we understand everything that is happening in China.”

Orbán welcomed newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump’s remark on the right of each nation to consider its own interests in the first place, saying that “this sentence could not have been said before”. Orbán said Trump’s statement was a “big change” paving the way for an era of “bilateralism”.

“We have received permission from the highest secular place that we, too, have the right to put ourselves first. This is a big thing, a great freedom, a great gift,” Orbán said.

He said this would also pave the way for concluding bilateral agreements in military and economic cooperation.

This year’s conference, organised by the central bank, focuses on opportunities in the cooperation between Europe and Asia. The event, organised for the fourth time, is named after Sandor Lamfalussy, Hungarian-born “father” of the euro.

György Matolcsy, the governor of Hungary’s central bank and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, photo: MTI

Strong bridges must be built between EU, Far East, says cbank governor

There should be strong bridges built between the European Union and China, and between the EU and the Far East, the governor of Hungary’s central bank said.

Cooperation with China will help Europe rebuild and strengthen the EU’s economy, György Matolcsy told this year’s Lamfalussy Lectures conference in Budapest. He said that China’s “one region, one way” initiative could be a “modern variation of the Silk Way”, adding that Hungary was one of the 54 countries involved in the Chinese proposal.

In his address, Matolcsy said that the EU had committed “grave mistakes” in the past eight years. “We have not ruined Europe, but destroyed the original European dream; jobs disappeared and GDP growth has halted,” he insisted. The position of the European currency has weakened “due to what we call austerity measures,” Matolcsy said, adding that Europe needs financial stability to recreate jobs.

The National Bank of Hungary is organising the annual conference, named after Sandor Lamfalussy, the Hungarian-born “father” of the euro, for the fourth time.

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI