Orbán in Brussels: Weber, Timmermans ‘have failed’

Manfred Weber and Frans Timmermans, the lead candidates of the European People’s Party and the European Socialists, “have failed” in their bids to become the next European Commission president, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday, adding that this was “good news” for Hungary because the Hungarian people did not want to see either of them in charge.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels about the first day of the ongoing European Union summit, Orbán said: “We’ve taken important steps forward.”

The prime minister noted that his Fidesz party had won last month’s European Parliament election with 53 percent of the vote.

“This is unparalleled: hardly anyone in Europe has this [level of support],” he said.

Orbán noted that he had pledged to use the mandate given to his party to prevent the EU from choosing leaders who support immigration. He noted that he had also vowed to make sure that the EU would not have a leader who “doesn’t respect Hungary or the central European countries”.

Orbán said he had been successful in keeping these promises because “the Spitzenkandidaten, Mr. Weber and Mr. Timmermans, have fallen.”

“They didn’t meet either of the criteria, so their departure is good news for Hungary,” the prime minister added.

Asked about the possibility that the Visegrád (V4) countries may field an important EU post, Orbán said they stood “a good chance”.

“For every EU position, the V4 has more than two or three candidates,” he said, adding the V4 would punch with its weight in negotiations.

He said V4 has proposals with “specific names” that would be good for Hungary and central Europe as a whole. He added that names “must be handled with care” since the chances of prospective candidates could be compromised by revealing them publicly.