BUDAPEST - There is a link between illegal migration and acts of terrorism, the prime minister told an international press conference in Budapest on Saturday, referring to the mass shooting at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany. Orbán said that Brussels wants to turn Hungary into Magdeburg, that it wants to impose on Hungary the regulation of migration, "the risk of which is blatant", and that this should not be allowed.
The Prime Minister expressed his condolences to the German people and the families of the victims of the terrorist act in Germany. He stressed that, although it would take a day or two before political conclusions could be drawn, such phenomena had only been occurring since the migration crisis in Europe. In his assessment, there is no doubt that there is a link between illegal migration and terrorist acts, but there are still those who try to deny it, even though it is a fact that there was no such thing before, but there is now. Therefore, Hungary can learn from this that it must consistently insist that it must not allow our country to become a world in which such things can happen, he said.
The prime minister assessed the Hungarian EU presidency, which ends at the end of December, as a success and said that perhaps one could have spared the juicy sidelights, but, as he said, he had never experienced "such isolation" in his life, "half the world was here" and Hungary hosted the biggest diplomatic event in its history. More than a thousand meetings took place, a huge number of documents were adopted and a lot of work and energy was invested in the Hungarian Presidency. He said that the Hungarian presidency had adopted a political and non-bureaucratic approach, as there were three important open political issues on the European table during this period - the Russia-Ukraine war, the Schengen area and competitiveness.
On the issue of the war, he said that the Hungarian Presidency had no room for manoeuvre because there was a serious and deep disagreement in the European Union on the strategy of the Russia-Ukraine war. He explained that one side, which currently has an overwhelming majority and whose will prevails, is of the opinion that this war is also a war on Europe and that we must therefore take part in it, while the other side, represented by Hungary, is of the opinion that it is a fratricidal war between two Slavic nations which must be isolated, not entered into, exaggerated and strengthened. Nevertheless, he believed that the gravity of the situation justified Hungary's peace mission and peace initiatives. We separated them from the EU Presidency, which caused controversy, but no one now disputes that Hungary had the right and, we believe, the duty to launch peacekeeping missions.
Another open political issue was the Schengen area, he said, stressing that the accession of Romania and Bulgaria was not only good for these two countries and Hungary, but also meant the resolution of a European problem, as some member states had been blocking enlargement for 13 years.
He also stressed that the abolition of the common border with Romania is a new perspective and a new opportunity for Hungary, as it will increase the number of border crossings, shorten the distance covered, facilitate communication and generally improve the quality of life in the border region. He also said that as of January Hungary will be able to permanently withdraw all border guards and police from the border section in question, which will be a great help in the understaffed law and order sector.
According to the Prime Minister, the third important political topic of the EU Presidency is the deterioration of European competitiveness. He recalled that the Competitiveness Pact adopted at the EU summit in Budapest set deadlines for who and what should be done in the next six months to halt and reverse the decline in European competitiveness. He said that no such document had yet been drawn up and added that it was a great achievement that a left-leaning Europe, which usually deals with social issues, had managed to reach a consensus on markets, capital, investment and efficiency.
In this context, he also considered it a great success that 27 agriculture ministers developed a common European position on the future of agricultural policy after 2027 during the Hungarian EU Presidency.
Summing up the Hungarian presidency, he said that time had confirmed Hungary's position that it pays to be courageous and to engage in debates even on issues that at first glance seem intractable. Before the Hungarian Presidency, no one would have bet on the enlargement of Schengen, on the competitiveness pact or on the joint vision of agriculture ministers for the future of European agriculture, he said. He also said that after the US presidential election, European elites are ignoring any new reality, but if the new president, Donald Trump, who takes office on 20 January, delivers even a fraction of what he has committed to, the world is in for big changes.
Orbán stressed that if the messages of the newly elected US president are taken seriously, that if the US-European trade balance does not improve in Europe's favour and to America's disadvantage, then "tariffs with everything" will come. He also said that the Western world would have a completely different attitude to migration, the protection of the family and traditional values, and gender issues. It will have a completely different attitude towards economic relations, war and the resulting sanctions.
Europe should realise that it will live in a new reality, that new things will happen that Hungarians never dreamed of before.
He summed it up by saying that we are on the threshold of great changes, a transition from a time of war to a time of peace. Hungary is happy about this, it has always wished for it, because it can never win in a time of war, it is prevented by various geographical, political, economic and military obstacles; Hungary can win in peace. He recalled that at the time of the Russo-Ukrainian war, Hungary had provided all the humanitarian aid to the Ukrainians, but had never supplied arms and would never supply arms and would not give money for arms. He said that one and a half million Ukrainians had come to Hungary as a result of the war, most of whom had left, and that, according to the latest figures, there were now 80 000 Ukrainians in the country.
He said Hungary was also helping Ukraine with energy supplies, training doctors and saving lives in general. Hungary is constantly putting forward peace proposals and a Hungarian proposal for a Christmas truce and a mass exchange of prisoners is on the table. Orbán has said that if the war ends, the sanctions that are plaguing the European economy could be lifted. He added that Hungary believes that sanctions should be lifted as soon as possible and as widely as possible, preferably completely, and that if this is done, the inflationary era will end and economic recovery can finally begin and prosperity can return to Europe.
He said that Hungary has long held this position in the European debate, but it has hit a serious wall. He said it was extremely damaging that the parties that form the majority in the European Parliament had made a pact and written that everything should continue as before. In fact, it is even proposed that all member states pay 0.25 percent of their total national product to support Ukraine for five years, he said.
He explained that under this proposal, Hungary would have to pay 200 billion forints annually, which is equivalent to half a year's pension, while we should be talking about how much money we should give to peace. Mr Orbán said that the result of the American elections was in line with the change that had begun in European politics, which had gained new impetus with the emergence of the Patriots group. We have a situation where the Patriots have been pushed out of all positions in the EP.
He also pointed out that Hungary is being fined a million euros a day for border security because it does not want what happened in Magdeburg to happen by not letting migrants into the country. Orbán said that if the government feels that something important is on the agenda, such as a change in economic policy, it will use various political instruments to make the changeover a success. One of the most successful tools is national consultations, he noted.
He added that the new economic policy, the economic neutrality strategy, connectivity, and the 21-point action plan for the economy based on it were the central lines of the just concluded national consultation. The 1 million 252 thousand people who took part in the national consultation show that there is "great enthusiasm and interest" in Hungarian public life, he said, adding that this is very important for the government. "This is what we stand on, this is our foundation, this is what sustains us," he said.
He stressed that after the conclusion of the national consultations, things will happen in the spirit of the new economic policy that have never happened before. Employers will be helped to subsidise young people to pay their rents and mortgages, small businesses will receive capital subsidies and in return they have "agreed to accept" one of the biggest wage increase programmes in Hungary's history, with the minimum wage rising by around 40 per cent over three years, he said. He said it was important that young workers were supported alongside university graduates as their work, skills, commitment and efforts deserved recognition. Not only the interest-free support of HUF 4 million is interesting, but everything it expresses, he said.
He also said that an important undertaking for next year would be the implementation of investments of national economic importance. "We are still passing on investments and there are many of them going on in the country, but we rarely see one that we feel will lead to a qualitative change, a change of dimension. Such is the case of the BMW factory," the prime minister said.
Orbán also spoke about the future direction of Hungarian industrial policy, highlighting not only infocommunications but also electromobility. The "big problem of the next decade", he said, is the storage of the energy produced. When most electricity is produced from green sources, the ability to store the energy produced in this way will be the biggest innovation for industry, he stressed. This is Hungary's position, he said, so the country's strategic direction will not be changed by the number of electric cars sold. What is important for Hungary is that a large battery factory will start production next year and the first Chinese EV factory in Europe will be launched, he added.
Among the signs, he said real wages have risen by about 10 percent so far this year, which has happened perhaps only twice in the past 30 years. He added that retail sales have already risen 4 percent in recent months, home lending has picked up, the number of housing transactions has jumped and the backlog of construction contracts has increased 32 percent since October 2023. He stressed that 2025 will be a big year for the Hungarian economy. New times are coming, which we have noticed in time and started to prepare for. We can win in the new era, the era of peace, because we are starting from a good position. Those who are still thinking about the era of war will be left behind," he explained.
We have a good chance that 2025 will be about Hungary winning the era of peace, Orbán said.
The government had not given up on transporting migrants to Brussels in buses, he said, stressing that he had asked the minister responsible to ensure that "the buses have warm engines". He said that at any moment a situation could arise in Brussels to which they could only respond in one way, by giving a "one-way ticket" to migrants sent to Brussels by train or bus. He said that they can do this legally and that this is not a provocation in itself, but a clear signal that Hungary will defend itself. He added that they have now hired a prestigious law firm through which Hungary is suing Brussels to recover the money it has lost because of the fine imposed for its migration policy.
According to him, the Hungarian currency is very sensitive to changes in the world, which is never good, and these fluctuations are unnatural. According to him, "we should never be more wrong than in thinking that 2025, not 2024, will be a year of great economic growth". On the budget deficit, he said that a deficit of 4.5 % is projected for this year and 3.7 % for next year and that the target is to keep it below 4 %. He said it was very difficult to manage a budget deficit above 3 per cent, which meant the country would remain on a "continuous debt trajectory". He noted that the strategic, not short-term, goal for Hungary should be to continuously reduce the budget deficit and public debt and eventually move into a creditor position, "not to come to others for money, but for others to come to us".
He also said that he had never been in favour of any form of stimulus that entailed financial risks, such as budget deficits or distortions of previously planned equilibrium. He also recalled that perhaps every election had been won in an election year with a smaller budget deficit than the previous year. He considered this to be a significant professional achievement. In reply to a question, he stressed that children's homes must be given enough money to provide safe, healthy and high-quality food for children in Hungary. This money must be available, and if it is not enough now, "those who are responsible for this will naturally ask for more". The government is not sparing on children, he stressed.
Railway services will remain in public hands while private capital will be used to run and renovate station canteens and shops, he said, expressing support for the transport minister's proposal.
He also stressed that the government has "modern economic policies" and that the minimum expectation is that it should extract funds from the economy to provide social, health and education services. "Now that György Matolcsy is leaving, I can say with certainty that the era of economic policy is leaving the central bank. He has always succeeded in doing that," he praised the outgoing central bank governor.
He added that the budget figures were fine during Mihály Varga's tenure as finance minister and he was convinced that this would be the case under Márton Nagy as well.
What we really need money for, we always have it for, he said, citing the railway station as an example. He also said that the Hungarian economy is fully competitive. However, he continued, there are problems, the Achilles heel of Hungary's economic competitiveness is the energy sector. He said that Hungary's competitiveness was affected by the fact that before the war it spent seven billion euros on energy imports, but after the war and sanctions it spent 17 billion euros. He said that 10 billion euros - 4 000 billion forints - had been lost from the Hungarian economy. He said that one of the most important elements of the industrial policy strategy was now to ensure that Hungary could obtain energy as cheaply as possible. However, in response to another question, he said that the government would not give up its plans for energy supplies and would negotiate with Russia and Ukraine.
Responding to another question, he also said that the exchange rate of the national currency was influenced by a myriad of factors, including speculation, but also the performance of the government, the overall financial situation, stability, budget deficits and the state of other currencies. Orbán also said that Hungary has a strong agricultural sector and, surprisingly, a growing food industry. He stressed that ad hoc factors play a much bigger role in the current development of the forint than the actual state of the Hungarian economy. "It is not possible for the forint to move by 10-15 forints when the Hungarian economy is the same. I don't think the basic structure of the Hungarian economy can change from Monday to Thursday," he said. But he warned that Ukraine's entry into the EU would "crush" Hungarian agriculture and, in fact, EU agriculture. That is why a strong alliance of agricultural countries is now being formed to rationalise Ukraine's approach to the EU so that "we are not beaten to death by anything that might come from there", he said. The full interview can be found at here
miniszterelnok.hu / gnews.cz-jav
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