Budapest, May 23 (MTI) – Conflicts between Hungary and Brussels are unavoidable because those that refuse to engage in a dispute are “chumps” and unsuitable to represent the country, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on public radio Kossuth today.
Among the Hungarian issues that have caused conflicts with Brussels are Hungary’s institution of life imprisonment without eligibility for parole, Orban said, adding that based on the reasoning by the Strasbourg court in the matter, he did not see a reason for Hungary to change its laws. He added that capital punishment would also have a deterrent effect on crime, yet the European Union also prohibits it.
Commenting on the issue of free palinka distillation, he said a new legal solution is being prepared that “will enable palinka distillation in Hungary in practice while respecting the European court’s decision.” He added, however, that he expected this new legislation would also be attacked.
He also mentioned the growing of Hungarian false acacia and making honey as areas where the European Union should not intervene into Hungary’s practices.
Orban said there were several decisions in Hungary which could be blocked by Brussels, for example, “they want to reverse electricity price cuts and block the protection of Hungarian land”.
He said Europe needs to undergo renewal and expressed support for the enlargement of the bloc, which he said was in Hungary’s interest.
Asked what issues he would represent in the European Council, he said tax cuts, a radical reduction of red tape, support for small and medium-sized companies and state intervention as employer where the market fails to provide jobs.
On the subject of Hungary’s euro zone membership, Orban said he would not offer any projections about the future, but he said it was a goal that the euro should become a global currency.
On the turbulences in neighbouring Ukraine, he said his recent comments on autonomy of the Hungarians in Transcarpathia were well timed because a new Ukraine was emerging and now is the time when the EU had to come up with its expectations.
Photo: MTI – Attila Kovacs
Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters
