Cold reception for Viktor Orban as Von der Leyen berates his support for Russia
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban faces a barage of criticism and condemnation from MEPs in the European Parliament during his presentation of his agenda for the Council presidency
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen targeted her speech at the ongoing record of Hungarian premier Viktor Orban in the opening address to the European Parliament for the presidency of the Council of the EU, accusing him of drifting the country away from the principles of the European single market.
Many MEPs who addressed the European Parliament durimg the presidency debate accused Orban of breaking the EU’s rules, of not being a cooperative member state, breaching fundamental rights and being an enemy of democracy, and was often called ‘dictator’ or equated to Hitler and Mussolini. His few supporters said Orban was defending a Europe of “values and tradition”.
Von der Leyen told Orban that the EU would continue to support Ukraine against the war of aggression by Russia, and berated Hungary for discriminating against European companies with higher taxes.
“How can a government be trusted by European businesses if it targets them with arbitrary inspections, blocks their permits, if public contracts mostly go to a small group of beneficiaries? This creates uncertainty and undermines investors’ trust,” von der Leyen said, pointing out that Hungary’s GDP per capita had been overtaken by its Central European neighbours.
She said Hungary had refused to diversify its energy sources away from Russian fossil fuels, instead searching for alternative ways to buy fossil fuels from Russia.
“All 27 agreed to diversify away from Russian fossil fuels as soon as possible… In the first half of the year, 50% of all our electricity generation came from renewables that are homegrown, from our own energy which created good jobs in Europe and not in Russia.
“But not everyone has acted on the Versailles commitments. Instead of looking for alternative sources, one Member State in particular just looked for alternative ways to buy fossil fuels from Russia.”
She also accused Orban of refusing to back Ukrainians in the face of the atrocities of Russia’s war.
“And yet, there are still some who blame this war not on the invader but on the invaded. Not on Putin’s lust for power but on Ukraine’s thirst for freedom. So I want to ask them: Would they ever blame the Hungarians for the Soviet invasion of 1956? Would they ever blame the Czechs and Slovaks for the Soviet repression of 1968? Would they ever blame the Lithuanians for the Soviet crackdown of 1991? We Europeans may have different histories and different languages, but there is no European language in which peace is synonymous with surrender. And sovereignty is synonymous with occupation. The people of Ukraine are freedom fighters, just like the heroes that freed Central and Eastern Europe from Soviet rule.”
She reminded Orban that Budapest too suffered the ravages of the climate crisis, with flooding damaging crops and factories, and that the EU had stepped in to show solidarity with its member state.
“Extreme weather events are the new normal of climate change. At the same time, its destructive power is too big for any country to fight on its own… Hungary requested the support of our Copernicus satellites, and we stepped in, and it helped coordinate the rescue teams and map the damage.
“We are also ready to mobilise our Civil Protection Mechanism, and the Solidarity Fund, for all countries in the region, including Hungary. Hungary can request our support, as others plan to do. The European Union is there for the people of Hungary. In this emergency and beyond. The Hungarians deserve the full benefits of membership and access to the European funds.”
She also criticised Orban for using his overweening powers to jail migrants when it was allowing in Russian nationals into the EU without additional security checks through its visa scheme, and allowing Chinese police to operate within its territory.
“This is not defending Europe’s sovereignty. This is a backdoor for foreign interference,” she said.
“I heard your words over the weekend. You said that Hungary is ‘protecting its borders’, and that ‘criminals are being locked up’ in Hungary. I just wonder how this statement fits with the fact that last year your authorities released from prison convicted smugglers and traffickers before they did their time. This is not fighting illegal migration in Europe. This is not protecting our Union. This is just throwing problems over your neighbour’s fence.”
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