Orbán: Next decade to bring epidemics, mass migration

NATO and its member states must be prepared to face challenges posed by epidemics and mass migration in the coming decade, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Monday, ahead of a one-day summit of NATO in Brussels.

Concerning the summit, Orbán said that participants could make it a “turning point” by adopting the organisation’s new strategic plan for up to 2030, and he expressed support for the draft.

Orbán said the new strategy was aimed at strengthening “national resistance capabilities”, adding that Hungary actively contributed to such efforts “whether it is the fight against the coronavirus or against migration”.

“We have something to say and we have something to contribute,” the prime minister said.

Concerning a commitment NATO’s members have made to raising their defence spending to 2 percent of their GDP, Orbán said: “We’ll be good once we deliver on our commitments.” He said Hungary would reach that goal by 2022-23, adding that he wished Hungary were in that position already. He noted, however, that some NATO members were further off that target. Hungary, he added, has already met another commitment to use 20 percent of its defence budget on developments, and the country was in the “forefront” in respect of those obligations.