Balázs Orbán, Political Director for the Prime Minister of Hungary, has recently spoken to the French paper Le Monde. PM Orbán and his staff were in Paris, France to meet with President Emmanual Macron of France ahead of Hungary taking the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU. This gave Balázs Orbán the opportunity to talk to the prominent publication.
One of the main topics of discussion was the Russo–Ukrainian war.
Mr Orbán said that, just like from outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Hungary has received assurance from the incoming Secretary Matt Rutte as well that Hungary can abstain from providing military aid to Ukraine. He explained:
‘The overwhelming majority of Hungarians are neither pro-Russian nor pro-Ukrainian, they are pro-Hungarian:
this conflict is not our conflict, and we want to stay out of this spiral of escalation.’
However, he also went on to add that Hungary remains a committed NATO ally who fulfills all its obligations to the alliance.
Mr Orbán admits that Hungary is alone in its stance to the Ukraine war with its push for a negotiated peace. Slovakia was willing to take that diplomatic path as well, however, the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Fico halted these talks between Bratislava and Budapest. He now admittedly really hopes for a victory for Former President Donald Trump in the 2024 US Presidential election, since, as he put it, ‘If President Trump comes back, his policy is very transparent: he wants to make peace’. Mr Orbán then added in jest, ‘He says he can do it in 24 hours… If he can do it in 36 hours, that’s good for us too.’
As for Hungary’s upcoming presidency of the EU Council, the director said that the Orbán administration would like to see the strengthening of Europe’s defence industry, and shares France’s objective of strategic autonomy.
According to the Le Monde piece, Balázs Orbán also believes that the fear of Russia among the Polish and Baltic nations is unjustified. While the historical background is understandable, he does not see it as realistic for Russia to attack a NATO member state.
He went on to stress that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had maintained regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the war and is still in regular communication with him, because peace must be achieved at some point, and for that to take place, there must be open communication channels first.
Hungary will oppose the re-election of Ursula von der Leyen as Commission President
at the European Summit on 27–28 June, the political director stated. He opined that von der Leyen has a ‘very poor record’, as ‘sanctions have failed, competitiveness has declined, the green transition has stalled, and migration issues have not been resolved’. Le Monde also reports that Fidesz, PM Orbán’s long-ruling party, is currently in talks to decide which group to belong to, after receiving a negative response from both Giorgia Meloni and Marine Le Pen on the possibility of forming a joint group of the far right. One of the right-wing groups, the European Conservatives and Reformists, is also out of reach because it includes the far-right, anti-Hungarian Romanian AUR party.
In addition, while the V4 is already fragmented and Hungary is currently at political odds with the Czech and Polish governments, Balázs Orbán sees the potential for strengthening Austrian–Slovak–Hungarian cooperation. As for the French right’s major victory in the recent European Parliamentary election, he said that relations between them and Fidesz have never been better.
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