Orbán: Visegrád Group concludes ‘good year’

The Visegrád Group is concluding a “good year”, and has handled the coronavirus epidemic successfully in comparison with other European countries, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in Warsaw on Friday.

Speaking at a joint press conference after a summit after Poland assumed the grouping’s rotating presidency on July 1, Orbán said the next task was to preserve jobs and restart economic growth.

The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have their budget deficits under control, Orbán said. Other countries, however, have amassed debts and “the question is whether we can help them”, he said.

Although Hungary generally opposes to EU member states taking out loans jointly, it has accepted the EU’s approach to help those states, he said.

The matter, however, is far from settled, he said: the member states need a “smart financial agreement” to be able to proceed.

As president of the Visegrád Group, Poland will play a key role in those negotiations, he said.

Orbán pledged Hungary’s full support to Poland in a period which he said would be defined by defeating the epidemic, restarting the economy and handling the migration crisis.

Orbán said he hoped that “economically minded” leaders will be elected everywhere to help their countries recover after the pandemic. He roots for US President Donald Trump, he said, “because he is the only one capable of getting the American economy in order after the pandemic”.

Hungary has “great trust” in the Polish presidency, as its leadership involves a “seasoned finance minister”, Orbán said.

Next to overcoming the pandemic and restarting the economy, the next period will also be characterised by more intensive migration, he said. Hungary is already detecting growing numbers of illegal entry attempts, while the number of people smugglers arrested has grown, and the number of Covid-19 cases has grown along migration routes, he said.