‘We look at Orbán with admiration for that work, for that capacity of resistance and for understanding that politics is not only a question of numbers, but a question of leading and being prepared for what is happening in Europe,’ Spanish politican and Member of the European Parliament Jorge Martín Frías told Hungarian Conservative in a recent interview.
The Patriots for Europe EP group held their first summit on Thursday in Brussels. The meeting was attended by all the leaders of the PfE parties and took place ahead of the European Council summit scheduled to discuss the war in Ukraine, migration, as well as key economic policies, all of which Hungary differs on with most member states.
‘In this temple of political spectacle and exaggerated posturing, he [Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary] demonstrated, over the course of three hours, that among the spoiled children, there was only one adult in the room,’ Rodrigo Ballester writes in an opinion piece published by Brussels Signal on Viktor Orbán’s ‘debate’ at the European Parliament last week.
‘How many times has the US ambassador intervened in Hungary’s internal affairs through statements, social media posts, or other means? The figure is likely well over eleven. And how many times has the US President or Vice President labelled Hungary’s democratically elected prime minister a dictator? The answer is twice—which is two times more than it should ever be.’
‘In sum, the report reflects the political views and values of the EU elite and can be seen as a tool to turn a problem into a crisis—an ‘existential challenge’—to justify the extension of EU powers at the expense of national sovereignty and decision-making.’
‘We all want to leave our children a world worth living in. There is no dispute about this among the members of European nations. Protecting the created and built world is not only our goal but also our duty. But to do so, we need sensible solutions. Firstly, we need to involve all stakeholders. The voices of those who bear the burden of the green transition must also be heard and listened to.’
Achieving the demographic turnaround will take a long time and a lot of work, but Hungary wants to take the first steps already in the coming months. Finding solutions to existing problems will be one of the key objectives of the Hungarian EU Presidency in the second half of 2024, using the EU demographic toolkit as a starting point.
The European Commission is allocating approximately €10 billion in aid to flood-affected countries in Central and Eastern Europe, but Hungary is notably absent from the list. The reason is somewhat paradoxical: Hungary has been so effective in its protective measures that the resulting damage is expected to fall below the threshold required to qualify for the EU Solidarity Fund.
EU Member States are soon set to vote on the introduction of punitive tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China. In the informal vote held in July, only four member states opposed the measure, while 11 abstained. Now, it falls to Germany and Hungary to lead the effort to shift positions and prevent an unnecessary trade war with China.
Prior to the start of Hungary’s current presidency of the Council of the EU, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó stated that the country plans to initiate the opening of a new chapter in accession negotiations with Serbia. This intention was also extended to the entire region, as the Hungarian foreign minister highlighted the country’s aim to hold intergovernmental talks with all five Western Balkan countries.
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.
