Hungary has a primary national interest is establishing the best possible cooperation with the strongest party in Europe, the European People’s Party and its parliamentary group, said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The Premier made this statement on Thursday on national TV channel M1 after a business breakfast in Budapest with Manfred Weber, Chair of the European People’s Party.
“There is no Europe, no European politics and no European Union without the European People’s Party”, the strongest political organisation and community in the continent, Mr. Orbán emphasised. He added that over the past decades, the People’s Party, which comprises Hungarian parties Fidesz and KDNP, has been a key power in European politics, which is also the case today and will probably remain so in the coming years.
The meeting in Thursday morning also touched on economic issues, unemployment, fair taxation policy, and immigration, the Prime Minister said.
Talking about the death penalty, the Prime Minister stated he had assured Mr. Weber that Hungary will not introduce any rule that may be contrary to the fundamental documents of the European Union in any field.
After the business breakfast, Mr. Weber said Europe could learn a lot from Hungary in terms of its economic successes.
He also mentioned the issue of immigration, which he called a great challenge. He emphasised that help must be offered to immigrants from civil war areas such as Syria. At the same time, he noted that there are also illegal immigrants who have no right to stay in the European Union and must be returned home.
Mr. Weber also mentioned the death penalty emphasising that its refusal is one of the common European principles and values, and thanked Prime Minister Orbán for clarifying the matter.
The parliamentary group of the European People’s Party will hold its next meeting in Hungary on Thursday, focusing on immigration and fair taxation policy, as both Mr. Orbán and Mr. Weber explained.