MEPs discuss with Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, the programme for Hungary’s six-month Council Presidency that started on 1 July 2024. The Hungarian government has announced the following priorities for its six month Presidency: a new European competitiveness deal; boosting European defence policy; a consistent and merit-based enlargement policy; stemming illegal migration; shaping the future of cohesion policy; a farmer-oriented EU agricultural policy; and addressing demographic challenges. Opening statements by Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister and by Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

statement

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

EU - Hungary (T)

ORBÁN, Viktor (HU)

Hungarian Presidency of the EU (T)

VON DER LEYEN, Ursula (DE, EC)

Presentation of the programme of activities of the Hungarian Presidency: opening statements by Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister and by Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the EC

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORB&Aacute;N, Hungarian Prime Minister, President Metsola, President von der Leyen. Honourable members of the European Parliament. I've come here today following the examples of Mr. Draghi and Mr. Macron, because the European Union needs to change. And I would like to convince you about that today.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, Hungary is now holding the Presidency for the second time since 2011, the rotating Presidency of the Council. Now, I personally am doing this. I'm here for the second time presenting the programme of the Hungarian Presidency. I've been a member of Parliament for 34 years, and so I know that it is an honour for me that you are here listening to me. Speaking before parliamentary members, as a Prime Minister, it's always an honour.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, And I have some measure of comparison, because in 2011, when we held the Presidency for the first time, we were also in the midst of a crisis. We had the consequences of the financial crisis, the repercussions at the Arab Spring and also the Fukushima disaster to contend with. We promised a stronger Europe and we managed this. We adopted the first European level Roma strategy and the Danube strategy as well. Under our Presidency, we launched the European Semester, the coordination process. And this lives up to its name.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, And under our Presidency, it was the last time that the European Union successfully concluded accession negotiations with the accession of Croatia. And this all took place in 2011. It wasn't easy, but the work we face today is much more difficult than the one meeting that we faced then. It's more difficult because the situation of the European Union is far more serious than it was in 2011, and perhaps it's the most serious period in the history of the European Union.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, What can we see today in Ukraine, in Europe? War is raging. There are serious conflicts which are devastating the Middle East and Africa, and every conflict faces the risk of escalation. The migration crisis, that is not being as serious. It's never seen this needs, levels not reached since 2015. And there are many threats, and there is the risk of the Schengen area falling apart. And meanwhile Europe is losing in terms of global competitiveness, according to Mario Draghi. Europe is faces slow agony and Mr. Macron also said that Europe may die with it because of the market situation.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, Honourable Members, we can see that we face decisions which. affect the fate of Europe. Of course, the Presidency involves coordinating and organising and administrative work. And I can tell you. We have already had 485 meeting , 24 Council meetings, 8 formal and 12 informal Council meetings. We've had 69 Presidency events in Brussels, 92 events in Hungary. I've seen initiatives, proposals, packages

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, And at the Hungary events, we saw more than 10,000 people attending. I'd like to inform you that the legislative work at the Council is full steam ahead. 52 legislative files are being worked on at various levels of the Council. The Presidency is ready to start trialogue negotiations at any time with the European Parliament. And currently there are two files on which we are carrying out trilogues with you. But there are 41 files which require that, and we hope that that can take place.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, We know that the elections took place this year as well, and we are currently in the midst of an institutional transition. But over the next few months, we are prepared to cooperate with you on the 41 files requiring coordination. The Hungarian presidency will work as an honest broker and will seek constructive cooperation with all institutions. But on the whole, however, the Hungarian Presidency will also defend the tasks of the Council, such as, this is in regard to the institutional agreements as well.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, Honourable members. President. But the Presidency is not just about administration. The Hungarian presidency also has political responsibility. And this is why I have come to you here today in Strasbourg, so that I can present what the Hungarian Presidency proposes to Europe in these times of crisis. The most important thing is that our Union needs to change, and the Presidency wants to be the catalyst for this change.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, The decisions need to be taken by Member States and the EU institutions, not the Hungarian Presidency. The Hungarian Presidency will raise issues and problems and will make proposals. For the peace, prosperity of Europe. We want to raise the issue of competitiveness and I share in almost most regards Mr. Letta, mr. Draghi's conclusions in the past two decades, a lot of economic growth in Europe has been significantly slower than in China and the United States.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, The EU productivity is growing at a slower pace than our competitors, and our share of global trade is going down. EU businesses are paying 2 to 3 times more in energy prices than in the United States, and this is 4 to 5 times when it comes to natural gas. And moving away from Russian energy has endangered EU GDP growth. And we've now needed to focus on energy support and imports of building the infrastructure for liquefied natural gas.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, Half of European businesses, when they see us, see energy prices as the main obstacle to investment. And when it comes to industries that have intensive use of energy, which is important in Europe, the production has gone down by 10 to 15% in those cases. The Hungarian presidency proposals that we should not fall into the illusion that the Green Transition is in itself a solution to this problem. That's not the case.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, And even if, we managed to achieve our goals for renewable energy. So if we achieve our goals, let's imagine that let's be positive, according to all analysis, by 2030, the number of operational hours from fossil fuels will not go down. So that's something that we need to really face. Basically, the foundation of the European Green Agreement is to create new green jobs. But the essence of this initiative could be called into question, because if that's if decarbonisation leads to the loss of jobs, for example.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, When it comes to the automotive industry. One of the best examples of a lack of planning in the EU. Here, climate policy is being applied without industrial policy. So, we are we applying climate policy when there isn't any industrial policy? However, the EU has not incentivised the transformation of supply chains. Therefore, EU companies have lost significant market share. And if we look at and if we move towards trade restrictions, since there are such plans, then I think that we will lose even more market share.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, Honourable Members, the productivity gap between the USA and the EU is mainly down to digital technology, and I think that we are falling behind in that and that gap is actually increasing. Our companies spend half as much in research and development proportionate to GDP as companies in the United States. And then you add to that unfavourable demographic changes. We've seen the figures. Migration does not compensate for the decline in the European population. So this means that for the first time in modern European history, we are entering a period when our GDP increase will not be able to support increase in manpower and labour force.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, After Mr. Macron also mentioned this, I think that the serious is serious and we need to act. We are at the 21st and we need to remain focussed. And it's much more difficult to create capacities than maintain them. The loss of skills is very difficult to replace. Now, I'm not going to say that there is a simple, straightforward answer to this. These are very serious challenges and serious problems. However, at the beginning of the institutional cycle, I'd like to make it clear that Member States are waiting for very swift action from the EU institutions.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, We, a Member State wants to see a reduction in the administrative burden. We want to see less regulation, energy security, a green industrial policy, strengthening the Single Market, Capital Market Union. And we also want to see a broadening of trade policy, rather than forming blocs, we need to have more interconnectivity.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, Madam President, there are some success stories that we can build on. The the battery sector in the EU that's developing is one of those successes and that's what Mr. Draghi highlighted. Public funding of batteries in recent years has grown by 18%. And this was key in strengthening Europe's position. And now we are the in third place in the world for this. And we've seen significant increase, improvement in patents recorded as well. And so this strategic intervention has been successful and has shown results.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, Honourable members. The aim of the Hungarian presidency is to adopt a new European competitiveness deal. At the informal meeting in Budapest on the 8th of November. That's a new competitiveness deal. I firmly believe that highest level commitment will give impetus and momentum to the change that is needed. I suggest that. We put this in the heart of our action plan for this institutional transition.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, Now, after after competitiveness, I'd like to say a few words about the migration crisis. For years now, we've seen migration pressure in Europe. It's a significant burden, especially for Member States with an external border at the EU. We need to protect the external borders of the EU. Protecting the external borders of the EU serves the interests of the entire EU, and therefore we should provide meaningful support to those countries and to that end.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, It's not the first time that I'm here before you. It's not the first time I'm saying this. Since, 2015, Hungary and I myself have been having, lively debates about migration. I've seen many things, lots of hope. And they've all been proved unsuccessful. And there's one reason for that. Believe me. Without outside hotspots, we cannot protect Europeans from an illegal migration. If we allow somebody and they are not, we cannot ever send them home. The only solution is outside hotspots. We can only allow those into the territory of the EU who previously received authorisation to do so.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, 'Any other solutions are, quite frankly, an illusion. The European asylum system is simply not working. Illegal migration is leading to anti-Semitism, violence against women and an increase in homophobia. Several Member states. Several of you are protesting against what I'm saying. But I would like to say that despite the facts speak for themselves in Europe, illegal migration is increasing. Anti-Semitism, violence against women and homophobia. You may not like it, but these are the facts as the result of this. This unsuccessful migration policy is clear. Many Member States would like to create an opt out.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, 'Honourable members, illegal migration and, fears for security, have led to border controls being reinstalled. I think it's now time to deal with this at the highest political level. And to see whether we can re-establish the proper functioning of the Schengen Area. The Hungarian presidency is making a proposal that is to create a system of Schengen summits. We should, organise Schengen summits on a regular basis, so that the Heads of government of the Schengen countries can come together, because this has happened already.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, When we responded to the 2008 crisis, an important part where the summits of the euro zone countries, this was a successful example of cooperation. And we this led to an international convention being introduced in 2012. And now we face a similar crisis. So we need a similar political commitment. Schengen summits. And then we need to institutionalise that through an international agreement. The Hungarian presidency is not just proposing, Madam President, that we strengthen the Schengen Area. The Hungarian Presidency is also proposing that by the end of the year, Bulgaria and Romania should fully join the Schengen Area.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, Honourable members. In addition to migration, there are many other security challenges facing Europe. On the 7th of November, two days after the American presidential election in Budapest, there will be a summit meeting of the European political community. And that would be a very appropriate forum for those discussions. We need to face the fact, when we talk about European security, that now the European Union is not able to establish and maintain its own peace and security.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, We need to strengthen European defence and security policy. And one of the best parts of that for the Hungarian Presidency is to strengthen the technological base and defence industry in Europe. The Hungarian Presidency and will focus on European defence strategy. But the challenges are multifaceted because they deal with many different companies and require international. Because we spend 2.5% of our GDP on defence and defence development.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, The vast majority of our defence procurement comes from Europe. And in all sectors of our defence. Defence industry, we deal with key players in Europe. And if this can be done in Hungary, then it can be done across the European Union. Madam president, another key topic for the Hungarian Presidency is enlargement. We need to have a merit based balanced enlargement policy in Europe. It needs to stay that way.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, It's the Hungarian Presidency firmly believes that we need to accelerate the accession of Western Balkans. This is a key issue for Europe, integrating the Europe economically in terms of security and also geopolitically. It is advantageous for the European Union. We need to focus in particular on Serbia. Without Serbia joining the EU, we cannot stabilise the Balkans. As long as Serbia is not a Member of the European Union, the Balkans remain an unstable region.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, I can inform you, ladies and gentlemen, that several candidate countries,, meet the technical requirements. But there isn't political consensus for the accession. Remember that for 20 years ago now, the EU made a promise to the countries of the Western Balkans with prospects for joining the European Union. According to the Hungarian Presidency, it's time to comply with that promise. What we have done is we are organising a Western Balkan Summit. We hope to see progress made at that summit.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, I'd now like to talk about agriculture in Europe. We all know that the competitiveness of the farming sector in Europe is affected by climate conditions, the skyrocketing costs and also imports from third countries and excessive regulation. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that this is risking the livelihoods of farmers, for food production, and food security is a strategic issue for all countries and for the EU. Therefore, the Hungarian Presidency would like to give political orientation to the new European Commission to have a farmer friendly and competitive farming sector.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, Honourable members. The Hungarian Presidency has also launched a strategic debate beyond agriculture on cohesion policy as well. I'm sure you know that one quarter of the EU population live in regions where the development level does not reach the 75% of the EU average. Therefore, it's absolutely essential for Europe to reduce these discrepancies between regions in Europe. Cohesion policy is not charity and it's not donation. It's one of the best forms of investment policy in the EU to ensure, it's a prerequisite for balancing out the single market. The Hungarian presidency believes continuing this is key in maintaining the potential of European competitiveness.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, Honourable Members, Madam president, the Hungarian presidency is finding solutions to common European problems, which are based on common sense. But we're not just looking for solutions. We, Hungarians in the European Union, are also seeking our dreams of community of free States. And a democracy of all democracies. We are looking for God fearing and an Europe of different cultures where not Members of the European Union. Because this is how it is.

SOUDNBITE (Hungarian), Viktor ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, No, we're part of the European Union because of what it can be, when it can become. And if we can see that Europe can be improved, then we will be fighting for that. The Hungarian Presidency is interested in improving the European Union. And we believe the success of our Presidency will also mean success for the entire European Union. Let's make Europe great again. Thank you very much.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, Thank you very much, President Metsola. Prime Minister Orbán, Honourable Members. We meet three weeks later than planned because of the floods that ravaged Central Europe. Five months worth of rain fell on Central Europe in just four days. Extreme weather events are the new normal of climate change. At the same time, its destructive power is too big for any country to fight on its own.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, The water reached the gates of the most iconic landmarks in Budapest. It destroyed crops and damaged factories. But in these three weeks, we have seen the people of Hungary rolling up their sleeves and helping one another. Europe wants to be at their side.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, Hungary requested the support of our Copernicus satellites and we stepped in, and it helped coordinate the rescue teams and map the damage. We are also ready to mobilise our Civil Protection mechanism and the Solidarity Fund for all countries in the region, including Hungary. Hungary can request our support as others plan to do. The European Union is there for the people of Hungary in this emergency and beyond. The Hungarians deserve the full benefits of membership and access to the European funds.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, Honourable Members, today I would like to stay focussed on some of the most pressing issues that we are facing during this presidency of the Council. First, Ukraine. Second, competitiveness. Third, migration. Our Ukrainian friends are heading into the third winter of war, and Russia is trying to make it the hardest winter yet. Last month, Russia sent over 1300 drones against Ukrainian cities. Throughout the summer, hundreds of missiles have rained on Ukrainians energy infrastructure. Countless Ukrainians have been killed or wounded. Families have been separated. Cities have been destroyed. The world has witnessed the atrocities of Russias war.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, And yet, there are still some who blame this war. Not on the invader, but the invaded. Not on Putin. There are still some who blame this war not on Putin's lust for power, but on Ukraine's thirst for freedom. So I want to ask them, would they ever blame the Hungarians for the Soviet invasion in 1956? What they ever blamed the Czechs or Slovaks for the Soviet repression of 1968? Would they ever blame the Lithuanians for the Soviet crackdown of 1991?

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, We Europeans may have different histories and different languages, but there is no European language in which peace is synonymous with surrender, and sovereignty is synonymous with occupation. The people of Ukraine are freedom fighters, just like the heroes that freed Central and Eastern Europe from Soviet rule. And there there's only one path to achieve a just peace for Ukraine and for Europe.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, We must continue to empower Ukraine's resistance with political, financial and military support. Last month in Kiev, I announced that we will provide up to €35 billion in loans to Ukraine as part of the $50 billion pledged by the G7. This loan will be repaid by the windfall profits of immobilised Russian assets, and it will flow directly into Ukraine's national budget. So, we are making Russia pay for the damage it caused, and we will stand with Ukraine through this winter and for as long as it takes.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, Honourable Members, the second priority I would like to touch upon is competitiveness. One year ago, in my State of the Union address here in Strasbourg, I announced Mario Draghi's report on the future of European competitiveness. Now, we have all heard his call to action. Let me focus on two priority areas.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, First, on closing the innovation gap with other major economies. Draghi's analysis is very clear on why we are losing ground, especially on breakthrough digital innovations, too many of our innovative companies have to look at the United States or Asia to finance their expansion. While €300 billion of European household savings are invested in foreign markets every year.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, And too many barriers still exist in our single market, preventing our companies from scaling up across borders. This is why we have proposed the Savings and Investment Union. We need to lower barriers for companies to grow across borders, and we will propose a new push to complete our single market, reduce regulation on burdens of reporting in sectors like finance and digital. And this is the direction to travel to strengthen our competitiveness.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, But what we also see is that one government in our Union is heading in the exact opposite direction, drifting away from the single market. I listened very carefully today. How can a government attract more European investments if at the same time it discriminates against European companies by taxing them more than others? How can it attract more companies if at the same time it imposes export restrictions overnight? And how can a government be trusted by European businesses if it targets them with arbitrary inspections blocks that permits? If public contracts mostly go to a small group of beneficiaries? This creates uncertainty and undermines investors trust.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, And all of this at a time when Hungary's GDP per capita has been overtaken by its Central European neighbours. Hungary is at the heart of Europe and it should be at the heart of our economy. The Hungarian people should enjoy the full benefits of our single market. Second, the Draghi report calls for a joint plan for decarbonisation and growth. Let me address those who still think that we should stick to dirty Russian fossil fuels.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, 'Just a few days after Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, European leaders gathered in Versailles and all 27, all 27 agreed to diversify away from Russian fossil fuels as soon as possible. So, where are we on that pledge? 1000 days later, Europe has indeed diversified. We built infrastructures and new ties with reliable partners. We invested in cheap and clean energy that is made in Europe and with success. In the first half of the year, 50% of all our electricity generation came from renewables, home-grown our own energy, good jobs in Europe and not in Russia.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, But not everyone. Not everyone has acted on the West Side commitments. Instead of looking for alternative sources, in particular one Member State just look for tentative ways to buy fossil fuels from Russia. Russia has proven time and again it is simply not a reliable supplier. There can be no more excuses. Whoever wants European energy security, first and foremost has to contribute to it, that is the rule we have to go.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, And Honourable Members finally on migration, everybody understands that migration is a European challenge, that requires a European answer. And this is why the European Parliament and the Council adopted the new Pact on Migration and Asylum. And now we must implement it. We are already looking at Member States, including those at the external borders of our Union, to help them manage our common frontier.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, Prime Minister, I heard your words over the weekend. You said that Hungary is protecting its border and that criminals are being locked up in Hungary. I just wonder how this statement fits with the fact that last year, your authorities released from prison convicted smugglers and traffickers before they did that time. This is not fighting illegal migration in Europe. This is not protecting our Union. This is just throwing problems over your neighbour's fence. We all want to better protect our external borders. But we will only be successful if we work together against organised crime and show solidarity among ourselves.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, And speaking about whom to let in. How can it be that the Hungarian government invites Russian nationals into our Union without additional security checks? This makes the new Hungarian visa scheme a security risk, not only for Hungary but for all Member States. And how can it be that the Hungarian government would allow Chinese police to operate within its territory? This is not defending Europe's sovereignty. This is a backdoor for foreign interference.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, 'Yes. We have to strengthen for Frontex. Yes, we have to finalise the legislation on anti-smuggling, reinforce Europol, implement the pact in full. But this can only be achieved with more European cooperation, not less. And of course, in full respect of our rule of law and fundamental values.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, Honourable Members, this is the second time that Hungary takes the Presidency of the Council. The first time was in 2011 and on that occasion, Prime Minister Orbán said, and I quote, "we will follow in the footsteps of the revolutionaries of 1956, and we intend to serve the cause of European unity. Europe must stay united to stand its ground". End of, quote.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, I think we all agree. Europe must stand united. This was true back then, and this is still true today. So, let me conclude by addressing the Hungarian people. We are one family. Your story is our story. Your future is our future. 10 million Hungarians, up 10 million good reasons to keep shaping our future together. Thank you. And long live Europe. Thank you.