“There will be no European budget until we receive our money,” stated the Hungarian leader in a speech at the Baile Tusnad Summer University in neighboring Romania.
The European budget project for the period 2028 to 2034 was recently presented by the European Commission and is criticized by several countries.
Orbán, who typically delivers a speech every summer at the closing of this event, pointed out that Hungary received 12 billion euros from community funds, which corresponds to half of the money it was entitled to.
The European Commission has blocked at least another 10 billion euros due to issues with the rule of law in Hungary, and concerns remain that Budapest is meeting only half of the 27 requirements negotiated with Brussels to access these funds.
Orbán emphasized that the approval of the community budget requires unanimous consent from EU countries and made it clear that he is prepared to veto it.
The prime minister, a sharp critic of the European Union (EU), reiterated that Brussels has positioned itself such that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, views the continent as “a political adversary” rather than an ally.
Thus, in the current “trade war,” the EU will only be able to secure poor agreements with the US, Orbán stated, once again arguing that “a change in leadership in the EU is necessary” and stressing that the Union “will not win the trade war” against Trump.
According to Orbán, the EU is currently “preparing for a trade war with the US and China while it is at war with Russia (in Ukraine).”
The ultranationalist government of Hungary is the community executive closest to Moscow, while maintaining tense relations with Ukraine, which has been under attack by Russia since 2022.
In this context, the prime minister reiterated that the EU should not integrate Ukraine, as this would mean importing a war into the community bloc.
