CEE Innovators Summit in Warsaw – Orbán: Europe’s future lies in V4

Warsaw (MTI) – The future of Europe lies in the Visegrad Four (V4) grouping of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said at an innovation conference in Warsaw on Tuesday.

Orbán was joined at the CEE Innovators Summit by his V4 counterparts.

The prime minister said he expects the “centre of gravity” of European development to gradually shift from western to central Europe.

He argued that the social and ethnic makeup of western European countries was changing, which he said was a disadvantage. Central European countries on the other hand “protect” themselves from this, Orbán said, adding that “this is a major advantage for us”.

He said the V4 countries still have solid cultural foundations, meaning that they have stayed true to their Christian roots. Orbán also argued that in central Europe the kind of people who get ahead are those who prove themselves as opposed to those who try to “beat the system”. This is why central European countries will not turn into “welfare-based” societies, he said. Instead, central European countries are building labour-based societies, the prime minister added, arguing that this, too, was a considerable advantage for central Europe.