PHOTOS show PM Orbán was key figure in first, ‘historic’ meeting of Patriots for Europe, demanded peace talks

The European Union must change its current “war strategy” to a “strategy of peace”, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in Brussels on Thursday, calling for a ceasefire and peace talks.

Orbán demands ceasefire and peace talks

Speaking ahead of a working breakfast of the Patriots for Europe party group, Orbán said the EU summit later on Thursday was shaping up to be “a difficult day, with three battles”.

The first “battle” would be on the war in Ukraine, Orbán said, noting that President Volodymyr Zelensky was scheduled to present his “victory plan” to the summit. “We don’t officially know it yet, but we heard what he said yesterday in the Ukrainian parliament. That is more than frightening,” Orbán said.

Orbán said he was “sometimes the only one” to urge a change to the EU’s war strategy, “because we are losing this war right now”. He slammed the EU’s strategy, saying that the bloc “has entered this war with a badly planned, badly executed strategy based on flawed calculations”.

Patriots for Europe. Orbán in the centre. Photo: MTI

“We are obviously losing the war on the frontlines. So we need change… I don’t mean more war, more dangerous and longer-range weapons, but that we should replace the strategy of war with a strategy of peace. Ceasefire and peace talks,” Orbán said.

Orbán urged Macron and Scholz to start talks with the Russians

Zelensky’s words to the Ukrainian parliament on Wednesday pointed in the opposite direction, Orbán said. Therefore, Orbán said he was urging German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanual Macron to start talks with the Russians, “to find a way out of this situation”.

PM Orbán and Macron. Scholz in the background. Photo: MTI

“The battle on migration” would also be significant, Orbán said: “Many of us want to change migration regulations.”

He called it “unacceptable” that Hungary “is being penalised for protecting the EU’s borders”.

An increasing number of member states are pointing to a migration crisis, “we need change”, Orbán said.

Orbán said the EU would also try to push through economic measures “that would floor Hungarian families”, including tax hikes, scrapping the utility price caps, a pensions system reform and scrapping the 13th month pension.

“I have a duty to reject that and protect the most important elements of the current economic policy which are protecting families,” he said.

The working breakfast will focus on preparing for the summit and on organising the party family, Orbán said.

He said the PfE had gone through the “baptism by fire” during the presentation of the Hungarian presidency’s programme to the EP. “We stood up for each other, they helped me protect Hungary.”

On a yesterday working dinner, Orbán met with PfE’s leadership, as well as Andrej Babis, the head of the Czech ANO party, Jordan Bardella of the French Rassemblement National, Matteo Salvini of Italy’s Lega, and Geert Wilders, the head of the Dutch Freedom Party, Bertalan Havasi said.

‘Historic” Patriots for Europe meeting in Brussels, says Fidesz MEP

It is “a historic event” for the Patriots for Europe (PfE) party group to have their first ever “summit”, showing that “we are present, we are strong and will be getting stronger, with our voice getting louder”, Kinga Gál, an MEP of ruling Fidesz, said in Brussels on Thursday.

Speaking ahead of a working breakfast of the PfE, Gál, who is the group’s first vice president, told Hungarian journalists that the summit offered an opportunity for the group’s members to consult about the topics of the current EU summit and “define strong messages”.

She said in connection with migration that “Europe is bleeding from a thousand wounds also in that regard. Thousands keep arriving day by day, young, fit and healthy people standing in line just like an army,” she said.

“We must act to achieve the goal that the protection of EU borders is getting financial support instead of a fine,” Gál said.

“The possibility of withdrawing from the [EU’s] very bad and flawed migration pact and suspending its implementation must also be examined,” she said.

She expressed hope for progress on the issue of migration, saying that despite changes in the situation, the EU’s migration policy was still the same as in 2015.

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