Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and EC President Ursula von der Leyen exchanged verbal blows in the European Parliament (EP). Orban called for a turnaround in key areas of European politics. "Let's make Europe great again," he said in a speech to the EP in Strasbourg, citing the motto of the Hungarian EU presidency, which is actually a variation of US presidential candidate Donald Trump's slogan "Make America great again".
"This is the only solution"
In his speech, Orban questioned key EU decisions made in recent years. "The European asylum system simply does not work," he stressed, and insisted that in the future asylum procedures should be conducted in centers outside the EU, and that people seeking protection should not be admitted to the EU in advance. "This is the only solution. Everything else is an illusion."
The Hungarian Prime Minister called for regular summit meetings of the heads of state and government of the Schengen countries. "We are experiencing a migration crisis the likes of which has not occurred since 2015." According to Orbán, there is a risk that Schengen, in which there is no border control, will collapse.
Viktor Orbán recently announced that, if possible, Hungary no longer wants to participate in EU migration policy in the future. The Hungarian government is particularly opposed to the recently adopted reform of the asylum system, according to which member states will be obliged to show solidarity with EU countries particularly affected by migration. Hungary has already been condemned several times by the EU's highest courts for disregarding European asylum policy.
In the debate that followed, Ursula von der Leyen and MEPs made clear criticisms of Orbán. In his speech, von der Leyen responded that everyone understands that migration is a European challenge that requires a European solution. That is why the new migration package exists, which must now be implemented. Regarding Orbán's self-proclaimed "peace initiative" about the war in Ukraine and his meeting with Vladimir Putin, von der Leyen said that there are still people who blame the war of aggression not on "Putin's thirst for power, but on Ukraine's thirst for freedom".
Criticism of Hungary
Other MEPs criticized the widespread violations of fundamental rights and corruption in Hungary. For this reason, the EU has currently frozen funding for the country in the amount of over 20 billion euros. Ursula von der Leyen also criticized the Hungarian government for releasing smugglers from prison early, allowing Russians into the country without additional security checks and allowing Chinese police to work in Hungary. "This is not a defense of European sovereignty. It's a backdoor for foreign interference," she said.
The President of the EC also accused Hungary of not complying with European agreements. After Russia's attack on Ukraine, all EU heads of state and government decided to reduce their dependence on Russian energy and look for alternatives, she recalled, adding, hinting at Hungary, that one member state had looked for other alternatives - to continue buying Russian energy
Orbán responded that cutting the EU off from Russian oil and gas threatens growth in Europe. And on climate policy, the Hungarian prime minister called for questioning the "quintessence" of the "green deal", which aims to make the EU the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. He also described von der Leyen as a political weapon being used against patriots.