PM Orbán in the ‘lion’s den’: can he convince the European Parliament that he wasn’t a traitor? – UPDATED

Reports have surfaced suggesting that key Western powers, from Washington to Berlin, are increasingly viewing Hungary as a traitor to the “Western Bloc” and an ally of authoritarian regimes and political and economic rivals such as China and Russia. Can Prime Minister Orbán convince the European Parliament today that these accusations are unfounded, and that the EU should rethink its policies on Ukraine, migration, competitiveness, and other pressing issues? While he is set to address the Parliament on the priorities of Hungary’s upcoming EU Presidency, the questions and reactions from MEPs are likely to cover a much broader range of topics.

Even opposition leader Péter Magyar will be able to question Orbán

Yesterday, Prime Minister Orbán held an international press conference in Strasbourg, addressing a wide array of subjects, including the EU’s declining competitiveness, migration, and border security. We covered his remarks and how a DK activist attempted to interrupt him in THIS article.

From 9 a.m. today, he will be presenting the priorities of Hungary’s EU presidency to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The ensuing debate is expected to be heated, with Hungarian MEPs, including opposition leader Péter Magyar, poised to ask questions and clarify their positions.

HERE you may follow the live stream of the session.

Wake-up call for the European Union

According to the Hungarian News Agency, Orbán said the European Union must change and he was there to “sound a wake-up call”. Presenting the Hungarian EU presidency’s programme, he noted that Hungary was holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the second time, after its first stint in 2011.

He said steering the EU then had not been easy but the task was far more difficult today as the situation of the bloc was “far more serious” than in 2011, and “perhaps more serious than at any time” in its history, noting wars affecting Europe in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa, all of which were at risk of escalation.

Orbán said Ursula von der Leyen contributed a lot to the EU’s ineffective strategy concerning the war in Ukraine. He said that strategy should be changed and an immediate ceasefire is needed. Photo: MTI

Meanwhile, the migration crisis threatened to tear the Schengen area apart, he said. Orbán said Europe was losing its global competitiveness and the bloc faced decisions that would determine its fate.

The EU must change

The European Union must change, and the Hungarian presidency of the EU aims to be “the voice and catalyst of change”, he added. Presenting the Hungarian EU presidency’s programme, Orbán said competitiveness was the most important element of change.

He said decisions had to be made by EU member states and institutions rather than the Hungarian presidency. Hungary’s job, he added, was to point out problems and present proposals in the interest of the EU’s peace, security and prosperity.

PM Orbán, Balázs Orbán, his political director involved in one of the biggest recent political scandals, and János Bóka, Minister for European Union Affairs. Photo: MTI

Concerning the EU’s competitiveness woes, Orban said the bloc’s economic growth had consistently lagged behind those of the United States and China over the last two decades, its productivity growth was slower than that of its competitors and its share in global trade was falling.

Businesses pay two to three times more for electricity than in the US and gas prices are four to five times higher, he added.

UPDATES

Success of Hungarian presidency ‘will be success of the entire

The Hungarian EU presidency aims for a successful European Union, asserting that its presidency “will be the success of the entire EU,” according to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. In presenting the programme for the Hungarian presidency, Orbán emphasised the need for solutions “based on common sense” to address shared European challenges. He stated that European security and defence policy should function at the level of European institutions and that strengthening the bloc’s defence industries and technological base would be the most effective means of achieving this.

In discussing EU enlargement, Orbán highlighted the integration of the Western Balkans as a critical issue for European security, insisting that this process must be accelerated. He also advocated for increased competitiveness in European agriculture while underscoring the necessity of reducing developmental disparities between regions.

New European competitiveness deal needed

Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the European Union seeks to secure approval for a new European competitiveness deal at an informal summit in Budapest on 8 November, Orbán stated. He identified digital technology as the primary factor contributing to the productivity gap between the EU and the United States. Furthermore, he pointed out unfavourable demographic trends, asserting that statistics indicate that migration cannot offset the natural decline of the EU’s population.

Member states expect prompt and decisive action from European institutions, he remarked. They are looking for a reduction in administrative burdens, a relaxation of overregulation, guarantees of affordable energy prices, a green industrial policy, the strengthening of the internal market, a capital markets union, and a broader trade policy that prioritises connectivity rather than forming blocs, he added. He also noted that the EU’s rapidly developing battery industry represents a success, as recognised in the Draghi report. This suggests that targeted, strategic intervention in Europe can indeed be successful and beneficial, he concluded.

Green transition not a solution to mounting energy prices

Orbán cautioned that Europeans should not fall into the “illusion” that the green transition alone provides a solution to energy price issues; instead, boosting the bloc’s competitiveness is essential. He noted that half of European companies view energy costs as the primary obstacle to investment, while energy-intensive industries have experienced a drop in output of 10-15%.

Analyses indicate that even if renewable energy goals are met by 2030, operating hours where fossil fuels determine energy prices will not decline significantly, he asserted. Orbán remarked that the objective of the European Green Deal is to create new green jobs, yet it remains questionable whether decarbonisation would lead to diminished output and job losses. He cited the car industry as a stark example of “the lack of EU planning,” arguing that climate policy has not been aligned with industrial policy.

Orbán proposes regular Schengen summits

Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán proposed the establishment of regular summits for the leaders of the Schengen Area. In presenting the programme for the Hungarian EU presidency, he also argued that Bulgaria and Romania should be granted full Schengen membership before the year’s end.

Orbán stated that the European Union’s asylum system is ineffective, asserting that illegal migration has contributed to an increase in anti-Semitism, violence against women, and homophobia. He attributed this to the EU’s “failed migration policy,” which has led several member states to seek the opportunity to opt out of the bloc’s asylum system, prompting concerns over illegal migration and security that have resulted in the reintroduction of border checks.

The Prime Minister argued that it is time to address this issue at the highest political level and to discuss whether it is possible to “recreate the political will needed for the effective operation of the Schengen Area,” proposing a series of “Schengen summits.” He reiterated the Hungarian presidency’s aim to secure full Schengen membership for Bulgaria and Romania before the year’s end.

‘If attacked, I will defend my country’, says Orbán

Following a speech Viktor Orbán gave to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, the prime minister reacted to critical speeches, saying a “political intifada” had ensued instead of a debate on the priorities of the Hungarian EU presidency. “If we’re attacked, I will defend my country,” he declared. Responding to speeches by EP group leaders and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, Orbán said: it was wrong for the EP president to highlight differences of opinion in the context of the work of the EU presidency as this had turned the EU executive into a political body that attacked “right-wingers and European patriots”. “This isn’t right,” he said.

The prime minister also “decisively rejected” her attempt to draw parallels between Hungarian 1956 freedom fighters and the situation in Ukraine. “This is a mistake and dishonours the memory of Hungarian freedom fighters. There is nothing in common between the Ukrainian-Russian war and 1956,” Orbán said. “I reject all false and misleading historical analogies.”

Orbán said it was important to acknowledge that Ukraine was losing the war, adding that the EU had “entered the war in Ukraine recklessly, based on miscalculations and with a flawed strategy.” “If we want to win, the current losing strategy must be changed,” he said.

He called for diplomacy, communication, “and direct or indirect contacts” in service of a peaceful settlement, or else “we’ll get deeper and deeper into war”. “Let’s argue for a ceasefire and come up with another strategy…” he said. Meanwhile, he called von der Leyen’s accusation that Hungary had released people smugglers from prisons “unfair”, insisting that Hungary had arrested more than 2,000 people smugglers. “So we deserve recognition, not criticism,” he said. Reacting to remarks made by Manfred Weber, the European People’s Party’s (EPP) group leader, Orbán said: “We will never accept equating European unity with you ordering us to shut up if we don’t like something.”

You want to teach us about democracy? Impossible!

Orbán decried the denial of EP committee posts for right-wing Patriot MEPs, saying “this could never happen in Hungary”. “You want to teach us about democracy? Impossible!”

Reacting to a speech by Renew Europe MEP Valerie Hayer, Orbán said the Hungarian constitution gave everyone the right to live according to their own way of life, protecting the family, children, and marriage, while also stating that marriage is between a man and a woman, and the father is a man and the mother is a woman. “That’s how it will stay, whether you like it or not,” he added.

Orbán also said Hungary’s trade ties were transparent, while many other EU countries bypassed EU sanctions by covertly trading with Russia through Asia.

Addressing MEPs, the prime minister said he had intended to speak about the “competitiveness problem” and “migration problem”, and the Hungarian presidency’s related proposals, but “they have turned the meeting into a party political intifada”. “If we are attacked, I will defend my country,” Orbán said.

Read also:

• PM Orbán’s Fidesz demands immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, says Brussels, Washington are pro-war – read more HERE
• Orbán’s Italian getaway: luxury hotel stay and exclusive seafood dinner – VIDEO and more here