At the EU summit held on Thursday in Brussels, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán advised fellow leaders of EU countries to be careful when judging the possible consequences of the Russian crisis. Russia is still a serious country and it should not be regarded as a fatally weakened one, he said.
He also talked about those member states, which - as a result of the sanctions imposed on Russia - had to cope with even larger losses than Hungary. These countries have openly raised the issue that prior to solving Ukraine’s problem, their losses should be compensated first, the Prime Minister explained.
Additionally to the previously announced EUR 17 billion, Ukraine would need a further EUR 15 billion support. Furthermore, the same amount of EUR 32 billion would be needed every year as long as the country managed to get back on its feet. “We will stand for the sovereignty of Ukraine. We will not impose further sanctions on Russia”, he added.
Concerning the EU economic stimulus package, the main topic of the summit, the Prime Minister drew attention to the fact that it has been clearly said that the funds allocated for the member states will not be affected by the Juncker package, which “comes as a relief for Central-European countries”, he noted.
Talking about the important question of whether deviations from the maximum budget deficit should be allowed based on different excuses – in the current case, based on the implementation of the stimulus package –, he said that once this happens, “it is questionable whether we will be able to return to a disciplined budgetary management once again.”
Concerning the planned free trade agreement between the EU and the USA Viktor Orbán said that this was the first time that he felt that certain questions cannot be resolved on an expert level and that instead, political decisions are necessary. Such an issue is for example that of sovereignty and how legal disputes should be resolved. Hungary will stand for a sovereign justice system for each state, he underlined.
According to the Prime Minister, this was the first meeting of the European Council, which in the person of former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was headed by a “Central European person, a friend of Hungary”, and which resulted in straightforward closing conclusions.