The Draghi report, the growth of the Hungarian economy, and the reintroduction of German border controls were the main topics discussed during Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s regular radio interview on Friday morning.

Speaking on Kossuth Radio’s ‘Good Morning, Hungary’ programme, Orbán emphasized that Hungary’s interest lies in economic neutrality rather than in bloc-building. He stated that Europe has two potential responses to Asia’s economic rise: either it can join the competition or attempt to ‘disqualify’ its opponent by closing its borders.

The EU is tending towards bloc formation, and there are daily reports of the introduction of protective tariffs, but for Hungary bloc formation would be a tragedy, just as the socialist economic policy was a tragedy when the world economy was split into a Soviet and an American economy. In the event of such a split, we would be ‘marginalised, we would become insignificant players in the world economy, we would lose opportunities, we would be locked into a dead end,’ he said.

Orbán’s position is that Hungary must compete, rather than reject or exclude challengers. He explained that it benefits Hungary to understand what makes other nations stronger and to improve its own performance in response. The Hungarian PM added that this is the essence of the report recently published by Mario Draghi, former President of the European Central Bank, which analyses the future of Europe’s economy and competitiveness.

He called the Hungarian car industry and automotive manufacturing a key issue, highlighting that hundreds of thousands of families depend on it for their livelihoods. He mentioned that in recent months he had discussed the future with the heads of all the major European car manufacturers, who were opposed to the idea of a European punitive tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. However, the European Commission is not listening to their concerns and is still considering the implementation of protective tariffs.

He noted that many major European political and economic players share Hungary’s views, and stressed the need to collaborate with them to build a force strong enough to influence and change Brussels’ policies.

Third Biggest Growth in the European Union

Orbán highlighted that Hungary has recently faced criticism once again for defending families against unjustified price hikes by introducing a price freeze, with opponents arguing that multinationals should be allowed to set prices as they see fit. ‘These are wrong ideas, these are the European Commission’s mistakes,’ Orbán stated, adding that people should not assume that just because someone is from Brussels, they are smarter than others. ‘They are wrong, and they must be made to change,’ he insisted.

The prime minister also noted that there is a lively exchange of views regarding the current situation and future prospects of the Hungarian economy. He pointed out that, based on the facts, the Hungarian economy has already navigated through a very challenging period and now stands on the verge of recovery, poised for a cyclical upturn.

‘Hungary has seen wage increases of 9–10 per cent, exceeding inflation, ranking among the strongest in Europe’

He stated that Hungarian economic growth is above the EU average, inflation is gradually falling below 3 per cent, and the investment rate is also better than the EU average—20 per cent in the EU compared to 23 per cent in Hungary. He also pointed out that Hungary has seen wage increases of 9–10 per cent, exceeding inflation, ranking among the strongest in Europe. In the tourism sector, historic records are being broken, with more Hungarians vacationing both domestically and abroad than ever before. ‘These are all figures that give cause for optimism,’ he concluded.

Orbán recalled that, according to the European Union’s forecasts, Hungary is expected to rank as the third best country in the EU in terms of economic growth next year.

Germany is Changing

Speaking about the war in Ukraine, Prime Minister Orbán stated that the ‘sensible part of the world’ has always been pro-peace. He noted that, aside from Western countries, most nations advocate for peace. Orbán explained that the aim of his peace mission was to encourage the West to consider the possibility of peace, as European leaders appeared to view the conflict as their own. ‘We are not at war with the Russians, yet Europe has taken on a pro-war stance,’ he remarked. Orbán argued that the solution lies in recognizing that this is not Europe’s war and that a ceasefire and peace talks are in everyone’s best interest, as a military solution is unlikely.

‘The peace mission initiated this debate, as we created a significant discussion in Europe that wouldn’t have happened otherwise,’ he added. Orbán further noted that as dialogue on peace continues, more countries, including the German Chancellor, are showing interest in joining the peace camp.

Commenting on Berlin’s decision to reintroduce border controls at all German borders for six months starting from 16 September, PM Orbán remarked that, while Hungary was once seen as the ‘bad guy’ in Europe for stopping migrants, Germany and Chancellor Olaf Scholz are now realizing the consequences. Orbán noted that issues such as terrorism, crime, and the financial strain of migrants who do not wish to work are now becoming evident to the Germans.

‘The German people have succeeded in getting their own government to align with their concerns’

He added that Western European leaders need only take the relatively simple step of acknowledging that borders must be protected, even if that means closing them, rather than punishing those who have already done so. On the contrary, Orbán pointed out that Hungary is facing significant financial penalties for its border protection efforts.

PM Orbán expressed the view that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not independently arrive at the conclusion that migration policy needed to change, but rather did so due to pressure from the public. ‘He came to this conclusion because migrants have stabbed peaceful German voters on the streets, because crime has increased, because they can no longer bear the financial burden of this failed policy, and because people are outraged,’ Orbán stated. He added: ‘The German people have succeeded in getting their own government to align with their concerns.’

He recalled that Hungary was the only European country to hold a referendum on migration, asking for the people’s opinion, and has consistently represented the stance taken in that vote ever since.

Related articles: