Baden-Baden (MTI) – Hungary’s prime minister has called for a renewal of European policies, insisting “the project we call European Union has stalled.”
Viktor Orban addressed a forum on Friday hosted in Baden-Baden by the foundation for family entrepreneurs.
Orban told 150 German small business representatives that Europe must face up to “the uncomfortable truth” and every member state must “do its homework” and “put to work every euro”.
Strong political leadership is needed to solve the continent’s problems which include high energy prices that stifle Europe’s ability to compete, he said. Alternative energy cannot be financed while nuclear energy is indispensable, Orban insisted. Russia, from the point of view of energy is absolutely needed, he added.
Orban said that immigration is not “a good thing” and Europe’s demographic problems should be addressed by nurturing a good family policy.
The prime minister said that Hungary was an economic “success story” and a “political black sheep”. He cited disputes over the country’s constitution as an example of the latter and Hungary’s macroeonomic indicators which include growth exceeding 3 percent in the third quarter as an instance of the former.
On the topic of the Ukrainian crisis, Orban said Hungary supports Ukraine’s sovereignty because “we also believe there should be something between Russia and Hungary.”
“We used to share a common border with the Soviet Union before; it was great adventure but we’ve had enough of that,” Orban said. He said Hungary felt solidarity towards Ukraine, adding he would seek to build cordial personal relations with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
Photo: MTI – Prime Minister Office/Barna Burger