PM Orbán will veto the EU’s next budget if Brussels keeps funds frozen and says Ukraine is weak, Russia’s strong

“We are the new opposition to Brussels,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in an interview to public radio on Friday.

Orbán said that alongside the formation of the new European Commission, the European People’s Party, liberals and socialists had entered into a political deal, with “direct consequences for Hungary” as they were “pro-migration, pro-gender and pro-war” and promoted an economic policy that was “bad for Hungary”.

“So we have to work as the opposition to Brussels,” he said. “We must put up resistance until we manage to take over the majority.”

The prime minister said the commission would “kill the European economy” due to a policy that led to high energy prices.

The Patriots for Europe family “must build a new majority in Brussels”, he said, adding that this was feasible “within the foreseeable future”. The Patriots and the Conservatives groups together, he added, were the second biggest alliance in the European Parliament and would “doom the Brussels government to failure”.

Orbán said Brussels wanted a government in Hungary that enforced its policies. “They want to redirect us, but this runs contrary to the interests of Hungary and we won’t side with them.”

“If this cannot be done using nice words, it will be done through a political fight,” he added.

Orbán said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Manfred Weber, the head of the European People’s Party, considered Hungary “not as a partner, not even an adversary but an enemy… They have made their own decision: they want a change of government in Hungary.” He insisted that the Tisza Party was their preferred government in Budapest.

Hungary demands the frozen EU funds

Meanwhile, the prime minister said Hungary had more than 12 billion euros of European Union funding on its account, and it must receive the rest of those resources in 2027-2028 or the country would refuse to back the EU budget.

Orbán noted that over 12 billion euros of EU funding was on Hungary’s account and that could flow into the economy. That funding will not be drawn down, rather companies will undertake investments and developments and submit their invoices to the government which will send them to Brussels to get 12.5 billion of pay-outs, he said. That sum would meet the needs of the Hungarian economy until the end of 2026, he added.

He said Hungary, too, was entitled to additional funding but that would be an issue for the period after 2026. If funding not received in 2025-2026 was not transferred in 2027-2028, Hungary “will not vote for” the next seven-year EU budget, approval of which requires a unanimous decision, he added.

Orbán dismissed concerns over the arrival of Hungary’s EU funding, saying that while there were “inconveniences”, the funding would “doubtless” flow into the economy.

Hungary’s budget covers teachers’ wage rise

Orbán said transfers from Brussels would cover 12-15 percent of an increase in teachers’ salaries, but the remaining 85 percent would come from the central budget. He noted that two of Europe’s biggest economies were without a government or, more accurately, with a caretaker government. He added that it wasn’t worth making long-term agreements with a caretaker government. He said the situation was a little better in France, where the president was elected by the people, but the situtation was more difficult in Germany.

Orbán said the European economy was now in a “state of disintegration”, in part because of “bad economic policies” adopted by Brussels over the years that had raised energy prices and hurt the competitiveness of Hungarian businesses. He said families enjoyed protection against high household energy bills, “but we can no longer protect our businesses” as the high energy prices caused by Brussels “undermine the competitiveness of Hungarian businesses”.

The question, he said, was how to get Brussels to change that policy and make energy prices affordable again. He added that the Budapest Declaration on the New European Competitiveness Deal signed at an EU summit in the Hungarian capital would require Brussels to take concrete measures to that end in the coming half year.

Peace mission in Vatican

Concerning his recent visit to the Vatican, Orbán said the question of war and peace was “at the heart of Vatican diplomacy and the Holy Father’s thinking about the world, so I went to the best place for confirmation”.

After his audience with Pope Francis, the prime minister met senior Vatican officials and discussed international affairs and bilateral relations. Hungary “received the reassuring confirmation” that the country can continue to count on the Catholic Church and the Holy See, he said.

This, he added, not only pertained to “the matter of peace but to all matters” for which the Catholic Church could provide assistance such as care for the elderly, the sick, and the education of young people. Orbán called longstanding Vatican-Hungary cooperation “excellent”, adding that Hungary could continue to count on the Catholic Church.

Concerning the war in Ukraine, Orbán said the US was “a key player” in the conflict, adding that “without the US the war would long be over”. “Without American participation Ukraine could not put up any resistance,” he said. The US, Hungary’s ally, was “indispensable” for Europe’s security, and “if they packed up an went home, an real possibility, a security vacuum would ensue in Europe in that very moment.”

The security situation in Europe must be resolved once a ceasefire is concluded to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end, Orbán said.

Russia very strong, Ukraine very weak

Orbán said Russia had changed, becoming “very strong” on the back of the war, while Ukraine had become “very weak”. Europe’s military, too, was “extremely weak”, he said. “We don’t even have the weapons, ammunition or money” to handle a war with Russia, he added. “All signs of European weakness have appeared.”

So Europe must consider regrouping and finding a solution “that guarantees our security” while situating itself in relation to the US, the prime minister said, adding this would entail a “complex and long series” of talks and actions over the next 1-2 years.

Orbán said “currently there are two US presidents… One is pro-war, supported by George Soros’s international power groups” while “Donald Trump will attempt to make peace”.

The prime minister said it was “too much” that the US secretary of state “on the far side of the Atlantic, in security and comfort” should suggest that “it is time Kyiv should lower the conscription age from 25 to 18 years … so that even more young Ukrainians die.” “Impertinently throwing that into the world’s face shows that it is high time for change in America,” Orbán said, adding that Ukraine was “stuck”. He said they had chosen “the wrong strategy when they failed to achieve a ceasefire with Russia around April 2022.”

Orbán called the situation “absurd” but added that once Trump was inaugurated on Jan 20, “the situation will smooth out” with things becoming “simpler and manageable”. Until then “we’ll be close to peace but in a difficult and dangerous situation at the same time.”

Meanwhile, Orbán said he had met Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni during his visit to Italy for talks on peace and migration. Both the Hungarian and Italian governments “firmly oppose any form of migration and seek to change policy in Brussels”.

Orbán ready to fight for Hungary’s sovereignty

He said the European People’s Party had formed “a government coalition with liberals and Socialists” which would have “a direct impact on Hungary”. The new EU leadership was “pro-migration, pro-gender and pro-war”, he said, while its economic policy was “bad for Hungary”. The Hungarian government “must act in opposition to Brussels and stay in opposition until its gains a majority,” he said. The new European Commission “will kill the European economy mostly through its policy resulting in high energy prices,” Orbán said, insisting that the Patriots for Europe group would “build a new majority in Brussels … in the foreseeable future”.

The Patriots and Conservatives were “the second biggest alliance” in Brussels, he said, adding that it would grow, “dooming the incumbent Brussels government to failure”.

“We will stand up and fight for Hungary’s sovereignty and for the interests of the Hungarian people,” Orbán said.

He said Brussels was “working to ensure that Hungary has a government that implements its policy… They want to redirect us, but this runs contrary to the interests of Hungary and we won’t side with them.” “If this cannot be done using nice words, it will be done through a political fight,” he added.

Orbán said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Manfred Weber, the head of the European People’s Party, considered Hungary “not as a partner, not even an adversary but an enemy… They have made their own decision: they want a change of government in Hungary.”

He insisted that Brussels had chosen the Hungarian opposition Tisza Party and its leader to be its “government in Budapest”, adding that it was “absurd” for Brussels “to determine what kind of government Hungary should have, forcing on us Brussels policies, which are bad for us, and expecting us to accept it.”

Orbán believes Tisza Party was chosen in Brussels

“If they want to appoint governors for us, we will fight back,” he said.

The security situation in Europe must be resolved once a ceasefire is concluded to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end, Orbán said.

He said Russia had changed, becoming “very strong” on the back of the war, while Ukraine had become “very weak”. Europe’s military, too, was “extremely weak”, he said. “We don’t even have the weapons, ammunition or money” to handle a war with Russia, he added. “All signs of European weakness have appeared.”

So Europe must consider regrouping and finding a solution “that guarantees our security” while situating itself in relation to the US, the prime minister said, adding this would entail a “complex and long series” of talks and actions over the next 1-2 years.

Germany is facing huge difficulties

Meanwhile, Orbán said he had met representatives of the German economy, adding that Germany was facing “huge difficulties”. For the first time since the early 2000s “factories are again closed down in Germany … not one or two but many,” he added. He said German plants in Hungary should be appreciated, and he called a competitive environment to be created “so that plants in Hungary are not shut down.”

Orban said those factories, places of production and investments, were “extremely valuable, and we have a vested interest in saving them, notwithstanding the woes of German industry.” Talks yesterday centred on developing plants rather than closing them down, he added. “BMW is building a plant in Hungary because it seems to them that Germany is in trouble, and that the Hungarian economic environment is better for them.”

Orban said Hungary “will be fine” if it sticks to the policy of economic neutrality, “and pays attention to the Chinese and US markets as well as Brussels and finds the right balance”.

Commenting on the recently announced Demján Sándor Programme to scale up local SMEs, Orban said the size of the scheme was unprecedented. He added that there were around 900,000 SMEs in Hungary, accounting for two-thirds of all jobs. He acknowledged an agreement with the newly elected leadership of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK) on implementing the Demján Sándor Programme, while the government contributed resources and regulations to the scheme.

Developing SMEs, he said, was the responsibility of the MKIK rather than of ministries, he said, adding that ministries could “make decisions and at best create good regulations and a beneficial environment, but managing a programme of that scale is not a ministerial task.”

He welcomed an agreement with the MKIK, which amounted to “the economy will manage that themselves, and we provide the funding and regulations.”

Orbán congratulates Hungarians’ party in Romania

Commenting on the recent Romanian general election, Orbán said RMDSZ’s success strengthened the Hungarian nation. “We are still a serious nation. A nation’s seriousness can be gauged by how far it recognises danger, and when it senses danger, if it musters the ability to act,” he said.

Orbán said Romania was in a perilous situation but the Hungarian community “with a state-building tradition” had sensed danger and had come together to take action to avert it.

The prime minister said Hungary strove to “establish friendly relations with Romania” so as to secure for Hungarians living there “a more moderate kind of politics”.

He noted that Hungary’s EU presidency was overseeing Romania’s admission to the Schengen area and the dissolution of the border between the two countries. “This is especially important for the people living there and it also greatly benefits economic life; it’s also in the interests of Romanians, too, of course,” he said.

He said Bulgaria and Romania had been in a state of “helplessness and a stalemate”, but this was now being “resolved”. “The final decision is still ahead of us, but we’ve come to an agreement with everyone,” he said, adding that Hungary had made a big gesture towards Romania by fighting for the country’s Schengen membership. “I hope this, whichever president is elected this weekend, will be a good starting point,” he added.

News came today afternoon that Romania’s Supreme Court annuled presidential election results due to Russian interference.

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