The first day of the autumn session of the Hungarian National Assembly was opened on Monday by a speech of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Hungary's foreign policy strategy regarding the East is working
Orbán spoke about how his government had raised its relations with Central Asian countries to a strategic and friendly level well in advance, and had become an observer in the Organizations of Turkic States in 2018. It is because of this that the war between Russia and Ukraine and the blowing up of the North Atlantic pipeline didn't present the government with an insurmountable challenge.
"Hungary's foreign policy strategy towards the East is working," Orbán said. He said that the government had refilled domestic gas reservoirs, with 60 percent of the country's annual gas consumption already available. The electricity network was also reviewed during the summer. Once the billing disputes are settled, we will be able to accept residential solar energy as well, he added.
The goal is to make the country self-sufficient when it comes to energy supply, and the government is currently four to five years ahead of schedule.
"It is no exaggeration to say that Hungary belongs to the club of climate champions," Orbán said.
Ukrainian grain
Orbán also spoke about grain, commenting that while a solidarity corridor had been opened to allow Ukrainian grain to reach Africa via Hungary, "we should be frank: we have been deceived": the grain is not going to Africa, but is pushing our grain out of the Hungarian market.
Orbán, on the other hand, doesn't want "Hungarian families to bake bread from Ukrainian grain of uncertain quality".
At the beginning of the school year, thel administration of a Mukachevo school banned the singing of the Hungarian national anthem at school events, Orbán continued. The Ukrainians have been oppressing Hungarian schools for years and want to turn them into Ukrainian schools. If this doesn't work, they will try to close them down.
will not support Ukraine in international politics in any way until it has restored the rights of the Hungarians in Transcarpathia.
Photo: Lujza Hevesi – Szabó / Telex
The war in Ukraine
On the Russian-Ukrainian war, Orbán said that peace is needed and diplomats should resume control of events, otherwise thousands more will die in the war.
Orbán expects the dispute between the Brussels bureaucrats and Hungary over migration to continue and even deepen and widen during the autumn. A new migration pact was pushed through over the summer, but it had already failed by September. According to the Hungarian Prime Minister, refugees arriving on the island of Lampedusa are beginning to give the impression of an invading army.
– Orbán said. He added that migrants had crossed the Rubicon and that under such circumstances Hungary could not meet Brussels' demands. We will not allow migrants into the country, we will not establish a migrant ghetto in Hungary, he said. They want to force us to take in those who are using weapons to attack the border hunters at our southern border. The government believes that we don't need a migrant ghetto, but a border fence.
The Prime Minister also said that Hungary was ready to play a greater role in the crisis zones, but that it would not create a migrant ghetto.
Orbán said there was another "migrant battle" going on between Hungary and Brussels: "the latter has placed demands on us". According to the Prime Minister, these include the following: the government should discontinue the utility bill cuts and the interest caps.
Orbán said that Brussels must realise that they are not opposing the Hungarian government, but the Hungarian people, while the Brussels bureaucrats know little about Hungary and hardly know the people here.
Photo: Lujza Hevesi – Szabó / Telex
The demands of Brussels
Orbán said that at the same time, Brussels is asking them to agree to a unanimous amendment of the EU budget, asking member states to pay €99 billion, which will be debated in the autumn. Orbán said they were being asked to give more money to Ukraine "while we do not support the war", and "the world's most unsuccessful sanctions have been imposed on us" and "while purely for politial reasons, we are being denied what we should be entitled to".
According to Orbán, Brussels wants them to allow migrants in the country, to permit sexual propaganda in schools, to give up their independent foreign policy, and is threatening that if they do not do these things, they will keep up the pressure, withhold funds and finance the Hungarian left through the Soros empire.
How can we respond to Brussels' demands? – Orbán asked. “Hungary is not among the ”jawohl" ("Indeed!" or “Aye” – Ed) countries," he said.
According to him, Hungary cannot allow anyone to limit its independence and sovereignty. We cannot accept the economic demands of Brussels, because we do not want to go back to the place where Hungary's enemies want to take the country: the Gyurcsány (PM of Hungary between 2004-2009 – TN) era.
As Orbán sees it, Hungary is politically stable enough and its economy is strong enough to beat inflation, protect pensions and salaries, and achieve significant economic growth in 2024.
Orbán wished all MPs a successful autumn session, and called on everyone to defend their post.
