PM Orbán says Europe’s competitiviness is in ‘serious decline’ – UPDATED

European competitiveness is in steep decline and will irreversibly fall behind that of the US and China unless the bloc is ready to take decisive action, PM Orbán said on Thursday, after talks with Luc Frieden, his Luxembourgian counterpart.

PM Orbán meets Luc Frieden

Orbán said he discussed with Frieden, who paid the visit to mark the 100th anniversary of diplomatic ties, the situation of the EU, including the Draghi Report reflecting on the bloc’s declining competitiveness.

“The situation is urgent,” Orbán said, adding that Hungary and Luxembourg both had a vested interest in boosting competitiveness.

At the talks, Orbán presented the current Hungarian EU presidency‘s draft competitiveness pact, to be discussed with all EU member states and presented for approval in November.

Orbán and Frieden agreed on the necessity of EU enlargement in the Western Balkans, and shared the position that a common EU Africa plan should be drafted.

Orbán said that unless the EU urgently prepared an Africa plan, the continent would only be a source of problems for the bloc, even though it could also be a source of economic advantage.

Hungary has chosen some African countries to which it can provide assistance through close bilateral cooperation “rather than waiting for the EU”, the prime minister noted.

He said Frieden agreed on the need for such individual attempts alongside a comprehensive African plan.

Frieden noted that in addition to the long-standing diplomatic relations between their two countries, Hungary also held the EU’s rotating presidency, adding that the need for continued dialogue was another reason for his visit to Budapest.

He reaffirmed his support for the Hungarian presidency’s stance on the need to focus on Europe’s competitiveness as a priority issue.

He called for deepening the common market and using private and state resources for the digitalisation of the European economies. Also, Europe must develop a defence industry and agricultural producers must be protected while avoiding overregulation, he added.

Frieden said Luxembourg supported the Hungarian presidency on economic issues.

On another subject, he said migration was a complex problem to which there were no simple, one-size-fits-all solutions. He said Luxembourg backed the EU’s pact on migration and asylum, adding, at the same time, that further steps were needed for harmonious social coexistence.

Meanwhile, Frieden said Hungary’s regional experiences regarding the war in Ukraine were important and concerning EU enlargement he also called it important to ensure a European perspective for the Western Balkans.

Praising the EU’s borderless Schengen system, Frieden called for strengthening cooperation among member states’ law enforcement agencies, adding that the external borders should be protected in a way that allowed for people “to live happily within the EU”.

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