Orbán: Making Europe great again is not a joke, it is the only path to survival

At the end of Thursday's summit of EU heads of state and government, António Costa stated that they were determined to continue supporting Ukraine. Standing beside Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the closing press conference, the President of the European Council stressed that only Ukraine can define what peace means and when the conditions for it will be in place. This is not the time to speculate on different scenarios, but to support Ukraine as long as necessary and as much as necessary. To do this, they have agreed to take concrete steps, such as implementing the latest sanctions package and looking for ways to increase support. The Russian aggression is an attack on the international society, on international law. The EU stands by Ukraine's sovereignty and will work for a lasting and just peace, the politician who has just chaired his first summit stressed, thanking the heads of state and government for finishing on time.

He also said that in a multipolar world order, it is necessary to strengthen the international organisations and for the EU to seek partners in the southern hemisphere, such as South America, and pointed out that the EU should increase its diplomatic presence in Syria.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it is worth being on the ground in Syria now, and expressed hope that the first EU accession chapter with Ukraine could be opened in the coming year. She also spoke about the EU's common interests with the US, for example regarding Chinese overproduction, but said they are preparing for different scenarios.

The Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU, which will end in a few days, happened between two political cycles, which is always a challenge, but it is nevertheless possible to produce multiple results.

She highlighted that the presidency has strengthened its support to Ukraine with the 15th sanctions package and the approval of a loan using Russian assets. She expressed gratitude for the efforts put forth, mentioned the Budapest Declaration on improving competitiveness and called the full Schengen membership of Bulgaria and Romania a historic decision and an important milestone in the EU's internal enlargement, and added that they had also made progress with the external enlargement.

According to Viktor Orbán, who spoke next, they were able to put aside all political debates with von der Leyen in order to move forward on important issues. Hungary's six month presidency happened during a period of unprecedented security challenges with wars, migration and the EU's growing gap in competitiveness at a time when others are seeking to become great again or remain great.

Orbán said that he is fortunate enough that this was his second Council presidency, so he dared to make it a presidency that was more political than bureaucratic. He added that a huge amount of work had been put into it, with most of the Hungarian state apparatus involved.

He said that due to lacking consensus on Ukraine, he had no room for manoeuvre, so on the war, he did not act on behalf of the Presidency, but through bilateral diplomacy, adding that the Christmas truce was also not put on the table within the framework of the Presidency.

Hungary's influence is dependent on its size, so they set smaller targets. "I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be that at least during the two or three days of Orthodox Christmas people shouldn't die" and prisoners could meanwhile also be exchanged. In January the US will have a new president, and until then he recommends strategic calm for Europe. He sees no solutions on the battlefield, he has only seen battle plans, dead bodies, orphans and widows, but no solutions.

"Diplomacy must take the lead back from the generals", otherwise there will only be more and more losses, Orbán said. However, responding specifically to Orbán's words, Von der Leyen stressed that the EU's support for Ukraine was not just military and that if Russia stopped attacking, the war would be over.

Orbán emphasised that it was during the Hungarian Presidency that the ministers responsible for demographics met for the first time. In addition to the enlargement results, he mentioned the decision on Bulgaria and Romania joinging the Schengen area, which had been delayed for more than ten years due to vetoes. Referring to a number of non-binding documents, he also stressed that it was the first time that the 27 agriculture ministers had reached a consensus on the common agricultural policy and that a declaration against anti-Semitism had also been adopted. He said that he is more convinced than ever that the only way for the EU's success is to strive to be big, to dare to take big decisions.

The motto they chose for the Hungarian presidency, 'Let's make Europe great again', was not a joke, it is the only path to competitiveness and survival.

Viktor Orbán has been in the Belgian capital with EU leaders since Wednesday. They first attended a joint summit with the countries of the Western Balkans that day, where they once again issued a declaration in favour of the continued integration of the region, with three countries having moved forward in the process under the Hungarian presidency of the EU Council.

According to his press secretary, on Friday, the Hungarian Prime Minister will hold talks with Bulgarian leaders in Sofia and then travel to Bucharest for talks with the Prime Minister of Romania.