Orbán: Hungary enters ‘new time zone’

Hungaryʼs Prime Minister Viktor Orbán this morning on state-owned Kossuth radio. (Photo: MTI/ Tibor Illyés)

“The European Union still does not know whether to accept the Hungarian point of view that borders must be protected,” Orbán said. According to the prime minister, an increasing number of members are talking about their responsibilities in protecting borders.

Hungary is “the island of stability” in the EU at the moment, however, there are joint threats such as an increase in terror threats and also the worsening of public security in several countries, caused by “immigrants”, Orbán said. The prime minister also believes that refugees took their “inner conflicts” with Hungary to the European Union.

Addressing criticism expressed by U.S. Ambassador for Hungary Colleen Bell on Wednesday, the prime minister said “it is not an ideology, it is the politics of power – pure imperial interest”. He said the United States does not support the Hungarian policy on immigration, and that they believe it is not an issue if so many people arrive in Europe. He noted that if Hungary did “half of what the United States does in protecting its borders”, Hungary would be reprimanded.

The Hungarian economy is heading in the direction “it needs to go,” as the Hungarian government was able to take steps to increase employment, the prime minister said. The number of employed people has not been this high since the change of regime in Hungary, he said, adding that in the next ten years, 500,000 new jobs will be created, according to origo.hu.

Commenting on criticism that the Hungarian government’s proposed auctions for farmland would distribute state-owned lands to government-friendly oligarchs, Orbán said such claims are “simply lies”. No individual can have more than 300 hectares of land, this is the key rule, the prime minister said. Hungarian land, just as the immigration issue, is a question of sovereignty, therefore, land needs to remain in Hungarian hands, the PM added.