Guy Verhofstadt: Europe is not the problem, Orbán is

Guy Verhofstadt MEP, former ALDE group leader and former Prime Minister of Belgium, was the guest of honour at Hungarian opposition party Momentum’s conference in Budapest on Friday. Mr Verhofstadt spoke about EU member states, Brexit and Orbán, among others.

No EU Member State is strong enough to be a global political actor

The opposition party Momentum issued a statement after the conference. According to the statement, Verhofstadt said, among other things, that although no EU member state is strong enough to act as a global political actor, the European Union and the European continent together can already compete with China, Russia, the US and India. “We must regain European sovereignty,” the Belgian MEP said.

He also reacted to Viktor Orbán’s comparison of the European Union to Hitler’s empire-building ambitions last week (Orbán said, when talking about European unity, that “Byzantium, Charlemagne, Otto, Napoleon, Hitler all dreamed of European unity on different bases”). Verhofstadt said the European project was precisely to bring peace to the continent after centuries of bloodshed, Telex writes.

Straying away from the EU has never ended well

He also said that those states that are on the periphery of the EU have never fared well; recession and inflation follow a move away from the EU. According to Verhofstadt, the British have learned this lesson, having “realised since the referendum that they were stupid”. Hungary must stay in the EU because “the problem is not Europe, it is Orbán”, he said.

Momentum MEP Anna Donáth told the conference that Hungary must regain the diplomatic influence it gained during the regime change, and “as a truly sovereign country, we must put our own ideas on the table when reforming the EU”. Greater integration is needed in areas such as foreign policy and the military, energy security, the green transition, ensuring European prosperity, and European funding for education and health.

Europe is Europe because of its diversity

At the same time, she expects national autonomy for the culture and way of life of nation states. “Europe is Europe because it is diverse, multilingual and multi-ethnic. It is a heterogeneous federation in terms of its traditions, history and culture. Therefore, Europe must respect and even strengthen the autonomy of nation states in shaping their culture and way of life,” said the Momentum MEP.

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4 Comments

Michael Steiner says:

19/05/2023 at 20:45

Says a man who is the very personification of the E.U. megalomania, corruption, lack of any personal responsibility or accountability, mooching off the taxpayer for decades… Yuck. If that’s the E.U., and it is, I want to be as far away from it as possible.
mariavontheresa says:

19/05/2023 at 21:05

Integration equals amalgamation or unification. That also equals giving up sovereignty. The EU have policies which are harmful for children, such as mutilation, why would a country that cares and loves its children accept such policies. The EU also accepts uneducated illegal migrants by the thousands. Some countries have space, extra real-estate and wish to support these people. That is their right. However, Hungary has not the space, money or desire to house illegals. The Russian/Ukrainian war is another bone of contention. It is easy for most EU countries and GB to supply weapons to Ukraine. These countries do not have their ethnic minorities living in the Ukraine. Oli and gas supplies also cause dissention. Hungary’s only access to oil and gas is Russia.

It is apparent that the EU and Hungary have very few interests in common. One thing is for sure, dictatorship by EU or their supported globalists are unacceptable to Hungarians.
Hugo says:

20/05/2023 at 00:26

Verhofstadt heeft al de kerncentrales van mijn land als premier verkocht aan het Franse Engie! Hij was de architect van het sell and lease back principe! Zowat alles heeft hij verkocht om de begroting op te smukken! Als Liberaal heeft hij samen met de Groenen en Socialisten mijn land vernietigd! Tienduizenden illegalen werden geregulariseerd en kregen zomaar de Belgische nationaliteit! Onder zijn premierschap werd er met belastinggeld gesmeten! Na zijn premierschap was de schuldenberg enorm! Hij verhuisde naar het Europese Parlement waar hij iedereen die niet akkoord ging met hem schoffeer de en de huid vol schold! Binnenkort stopt hij met politiek en kan hij in Toscane gaan genieten in zijn luxueuze villa! Momenteel hebben we met De Croo terug een Liberale premier ,die samen met de Groenen,Socialisten en Katholieken België in de afgrond stort! Mijn land is bankroet en heeft een schuld van meer dan 450 miljard€! We hebben de slechtste begroting van Europa! Onze grenzen staan open en verleden jaar kregen we meer dan 30.000 vreemdelingen die asiel vroegen!!! Onze Sociale Zekerheid wordt geplunderd zonder dat ze ooit een € hebben bijgedragen! De criminaliteit is zeer groot en de haven van Antwerpen is de Europese draaischijf voor cocaïne! Moslim extremisten worden ongemoeid gelaten! Ik kan zo nog wel even doorgaan! Mijn land is omzeep!!
Larry says:

20/05/2023 at 02:49

To allow 27 member countries all to have a veto over decisions is a recipe for disaster. Hungary is facilitating the disaster. The EU needs to change the way it works.