EU accession talks with Ukraine should not even begin - Hungary's Orbán

Hungary does not veto, but...

Hungary will not veto, but will have decisions changed, Orbán said. The EU's rules stipulate that there are certain issues on which a decision can only be taken if all states agree. Without us, there is no decision. Since there is no agreement, there is no common position. This seems like a small thing, but it is not all the same how we see the Union. We are the Union. The Union is not in Brussels, that is where the bureaucrats are.

Ukraine's EU accession

Negotiations with Ukraine on its accession to the EU should not even begin. [...] We need strategic cooperation to bring us closer together. Ukraine's accession should be prepared.

The strategic partnership could go on for as long as five to ten years, and then we can think about how to proceed, he added.

One of the reasons the cabinet is of this view is that the accession process is not prepared. I's not preparation to "write a paper and then everyone reads it", he said, adding that EU leaders should have negotiated with everyone and coordinated the different interests.

Secondly, Ukraine is at war and its legal system works differently than in a peaceful state. We cannot say how many people live in the country or how big Ukraine is territorially, because Russia has occupied parts of it militarily. Hungarian farmers say that the inclusion of Ukrainian agriculture will ruin Hungarian farmers by the hundreds of thousands, so why should we support it?

Would EU countries be willing to pay more to support Ukraine? Development funds would be lost from the Baltic to Hungary. What would be the consequences of Ukraine's membership? We have already made a mistake, we started negotiating with the Turks, but no decision has been taken for decades. Orbán said

"If we don't know what the consequences of the inclusion of Ukraine would be, then let's not even start talking about it," said Orbán.

Support for Ukraine

We have given €100 billion in cash and arms to the Ukrainians. European economies are in bad shape, for example, unemployment is rising in many places. The EU is sending money to Ukraine so that the Ukrainian army can win on the front line. But even if we sent more money, I am not sure that we would succeed.

Let's create a financial fund by intergovernmental agreement, where everyone can contribute the money they want to send to Ukraine.

The budget is about predictability. We have run out of money in the 7-year budget, that is why we need to change it.

A more flexible solution must be found for war. The Hungarian position is that we must be transparent, let's discuss who can give them how much,

Orbán said.

Inflation and wages - 2023 was the most dangerous year in years

Viktor Orbán said the economy is a complex tissue system:

Let me try to put it simply: 2023 was the most dangerous year in many years. The Hungarian people worked hard this year to make sure it didn't get worse. In 2024, the question to ask is: why will we work, how will it get better? This is not just a pipe dream, it is an achievable opportunity.

One example is the raise to the minimum wage (as of 1 December), we will definitely increase pensions by 6%, we promised that. Wages are going up by 10% (guaranteed wage minimum) and 15% (minimum wage), and that will push up wages at higher levels. We've launched the CSOK Plus, we've increased the baby loan.

"The proportion of people under 40 who own their own home has reached 75%. I always argue for home ownership, it gives more security then rental." He also noted that the government will be able to pay the increased 13th month pension in February.

Hungary is part of the West

In the last 20-30 years we have come out of the Soviet bloc and into the Western world. We are part of the West: NATO membership, EU membership. But it is in our interest to try to trade with every country in the world. Any isolation is against our interests.

Hungary cannot close itself off. If a country of 10 million people wants to do better than currently it has to sell its products all over the world.

A blind man could see that the most developing part of the world is to the east of us, and cooperation with them is in our interests.

Cover photo: MTI Photo/Prime Minister's Press Office/Zoltán Fischer