Merkel in Hungary: I cannot get my head around the word 'illiberal'

Not such a great agreement on this one

Asked how Merkel interprets Orbán’s infamous ‘illeberal democracy’ from last summer, the Chancellor responded:

“[...] we have talked about the special characteristics of our democracies and we will need to deepen our conversation on this matter. For us the roots of democracy are always liberal, though not only. Our party CDU has three roots: Christian Democratic, liberal and conservative roots. That’s what makes us a people’s party."

“I don’t know what to do with the word ‘illiberal’ in connection with democracy," she added.The Hungarian premier has also shared his views about this issue.

Not every democracy is necessarily liberal “and if someone wants to say that democracy is necessarily liberal, they demand privileges for an ideology that we cannot grant," Orbán said, suggesting he insists on his stance on this one.

No weapons to Ukraine

Asked whether Hungary or Germany would consider shipping weapons to Ukraine, for his par Orbán responded: “No."

Merkel said she trusts this conflict can be solved peacefully therefore they are not planning to help Ukraine with weapons. However, she said it was possible that sanctions against Russia will be expanded.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel holds a joint press conference with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after a short negotiation in Budapest on 2 February 2015.

Orbán: This is the most important issue right now

Merkel noted that the German economy depends 30% from Russian gas, although this dependence is far greater in Hungary. Germany supports Hungary in its efforts to achieve a greater independence in energy supply, she said. Merkel also underlined the importance of reverse gas flow from Hungary to Ukraine. (Hungary has just recently restarted reverse gas transmission to Ukraine after unexpectedly shutting it down last year, citing the need to fill up local storage facilities for the winter.)

“In Hungary, both households and the industry is built on gas consumption therefore our exposure in this respect is greater by orders of magnitude than that of Germany," Orbán said. He reminded that the country’s long-term gas supply agreement with Russia expires this year and a serious volume of gas is transmitted to Hungary only from Russia as of now.

“This is a problem. This is actually the biggest problem of this year," he added. “This needs to be solved in the first half of the year, otherwise our households and industry don’t work. This is a very serious matter," he added.

At the end of last week, Orbán said the long-term gas supply deal will be one of the issues to be discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin when he arrives in Budapest on 17 February.“I am telling you this only to get the message through that the situation of the Hungarian economy in relation to Russia requires due seriousness."

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán picks up a pen German Chancellor Angela Merkel accidentally dropped during their joint press conference in Parliament in Budapest on 2 February 2015.

Ukraine and Russia

“We have addressed the European challenges that we are facing. The Prime Minister has already mentioned Ukraine. [...] we want to help Ukraine in its conflict with Russia," Merkel said. She noted she was grateful for Hungary for supporting Ukraine via gas deliveries.

At the same time both Hungary and Germany are very much dependent on Russian gas therefore we want predictability, fair approach and reliability in Russian gas supply, Merkel added.

Yet, we will make sure in European politics to diversify our energy sources, but a prerequisite for that is that Europe needs to build up an energy market. We need to construct such interconnectors that enable reverse flows, the chancellor explained.

We have agreed that a ceasefire must implemented at once between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine. The Minsk Accord is a good starting point; Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be guaranteed, she underlined.

Germany keeps on working on this, jointly with other European nations. European unity has great value for us in this case and our decisions are equally crucial, even if our starting points are perhaps different. Europe was always strong when such issues could be addressed collectively, Merkel said, referring to the need to stand on a joint platform on sanctions against Russia. She implicitly sent a message to Orbán who stood behind the idea of deepening such sanctions but stressed than, in his view, this does not serve Europe’s interests.

Cautious proposals

Merkel said she is confident that German-Hungarian economic relations will continue to develop. She will meet the representatives of German businesses to listen to their views on which are the benefits and what are the critical points of this co-operation with Hungary. Wherever the German economy invests, it remains a loyal investor in that country if it finds reliable framework conditions, she added.

Merkel told Orbán that he should give space to opponents of his rule, a nod to critics who say the PM has eroded democratic freedoms, e.g. forcing independent judges into retirement, stacking state institutions with his supporters, and turning public media into an obedient mouthpiece. Orbán denies those allegations, saying he has a mandate from voters to end years of misrule under his predecessors.

"We talked about the development of our civil societies, and I pointed out that even when you have a broad majority, as the Hungarian prime minister does, it is important to value the role of the opposition, of civil society, of the media," Merkel said at a joint news conference with Orbán during her short visit.

"Our societies thrive when these groups wrestle with each other to find the best way forward and I think this is also an important model for Hungary," Reuters cited her as saying.

Merkel says thanks too

Merkel has thanked Hungary for the steps it had taken to facilitate German reunification. After the fall of the Iron Curtain both nations started out on this path with great enthusiasm, she said. Today Germany and Hungary are in relation both in terms of friendship and democratic social order. The German economy is happy that it can contribute to the success of the Hungarian economy, the Chancellor added.

Orbán: "Danke Deutschland"

Hungary’s has come a long way since the 2010 crisis. This way has led from the crisis to the creation of a work-based society, Orbán told a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, mentioning Hungary’s growth and employment data. He reminded that there are 6,000 German companies in Hungary that have created 300,000 jobs so far.

They talked about the situation in Ukraine and the Eurasian Economic Union. The PM reminded that Ukraine is important for Hungary for several reasons. It is a neighbouring country and it is transit country for natural gas, with 200,000 ethnic Hungarians living there.

In this situation we can side only with peace, he stressed.

Merkel will today also go to a Budapest synagogue - the largest synagogue in Europe in Dohány Street - a visit her entourage says she will use to highlight the dangers of racial and ethnic hatred around Europe.

At home, Merkel has spoken out against Germany's PEGIDA movement, which has held mass rallies against immigration, while in Hungary the second-biggest party, Jobbik, has been accused of anti-Semitic and anti-Roma rhetoric.

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• economy,
• russia,
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• orbán