Orbán: EU enlargement must happen

The enlargement of the European Union must happen, but the move’s positive image in the EU must be fought for, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told the 11th conference of the speakers of south-eastern European countries in Parliament on Friday.

Central European countries see the enlargement of the Western Balkans as an opportunity and a resource of energy and strength, Orbán said.

Unless the region becomes a part of the EU, the “geopolitical hole between Hungary and Greece” will attract other powers, he said.

Meanwhile, the Hungary-Serbia border had become a “meeting point of the Chinese free trade area and the EU market”, he said. Although Serbia’s free trade agreement with China “would be incompatible with EU membership . The Serbs are right to stand on more than one leg. This is the way to prod the EU into action,” he said.

The war in Ukraine had “created chaos and uncertainty in the EU”, so far aimed at an “all-European security architecture” as well as  linking cheap Russian energy and cutting-edge western technology, he said.

That security structure has collapsed but while the sanctions against Russia made that model impossible, there is no clear picture of a system of agreements that would guarantee European security, he said.

Read also:

• Orbán: Current battles with EU not helping Hungary’s development
• House Speaker: With Western Balkans, EU would be stronger, with Ukraine, EU would be weaker