Minister Viktor Orbán told Kossuth Radio’s “180 Minutes” programme that “we can be proud of the fact that it is only in Hungary that people have been asked about the issue of immigration; we did the right thing and the Hungarians acted bravely in this matter”.
The most important thing now is preventing mandatory relocation
The Prime Minister stressed: In Hungary the people have had the chance to express their will and now the Government must show that it is bound by the will of the people. We have good reason to be proud about the fact that it is only here that they have dared to ask the people, and this means that “the standard of democracy is high in Hungary”, he said in assessment.
With reference to discussions concerning the constitutional amendment, Mr. Orbán explained: The door is open before every party with a parliamentary group and their leaders, because one cannot engage in good politics without dialogue. But issues have an order of importance and currently the most important thing on Hungary’s agenda is preventing mandatory relocation, this is why we need the constitutional amendment and this is what we should be discussing now, he explained.
The Prime Minister highlighted the fact that at the referendum the will of 3.3 million people pointed in the same direction and this is a larger mass of people than has ever given a vote of confidence to any political party in Hungary. 98 percent of voters said that Hungary cannot give up any part of its sovereignty and the question of who we should live with must be decided here. This is a clear situation and this is what must be set down in the constitution, he noted.
Parliament exists to debate issues and the text of the constitutional amendment is precisely such an issue, the Prime Minister explained, adding that he felt the text was worthy and precise. He would present his exposé to the National Assembly on Monday, and they will consider the proposals of the opposition, and if there are any that are worthy of inclusion and worth including then they will do so, he said.
Mr. Orbán also spoke about the fact that international law is extremely clear: “People who are running for their lives must be allowed in”, and this is what Hungary did when Yugoslavia collapsed. Hungary has practice in how to act humanely, fairly and in accordance with international law”, he noted.
A new unity has come about in Hungary; the people have clearly stated what they want and it is the Government’s duty to try and enforce their will, “and I will do everything possible to ensure that we can enforce that will, and I believe we have a chance of success”, the Prime Minister stressed. According to Hungary’s standpoint, there are issues, issues of identity, that nobody, including the EU’s legislation, can affect; these are the fundamental questions of our national existence and if they can be affected by others then we are not the masters of our fate, and this is something we cannot accept, he said.
Mandatory relocation must be withdrawn from the Commission’s agenda, because it is tearing the EU apart
In reaction to criticism from Sweden, the Prime Minister said: How dare the Swedes say they are paying us money; Hungary is assenting to customs-free trade, we have allowed Swedish capital in, and so it is “impertinence” to claim that they are giving us money.
Mr. Orbán said he had hoped that the meeting of EU Interior Ministers on Thursday would create a clearer situation, but mandatory relocation has not been removed from the agenda. The European Commission’s proposal still includes mandatory relocation, but hopefully the Commission will realise that it has put forward a proposal that is contrary to the decision of the EU’s Prime Ministers and that “this must be removed from the agenda because it is tearing the European Union apart” before the decision of the European Court, he said. Since the parties did not come to an agreement on the issue on Thursday, the debate will continue in the European Council next week.
The Prime Minister recalled that in March the European Union’s Prime Ministers voted in favour of reinstating the regulations on free movement that existed prior to mass migration by the end of November, and the prerequisite for this is the protection of the EU’s external borders. Hungary is a “refreshing exception” with regard to protecting external borders, because “not even a bird can fly over without having to fill in a form about who and what they are, where they want to go and with what intentions they are arriving”, but the situation isn’t as good everywhere, he said.
1956 is about freedom
Mr. Orbán spoke about the fact that 1956 is about freedom, which can be endangered by many factors including if “foreigners whose habits and whose concept of life is totally different from our own appear within a country’s territory without any kind of control” and transform our free society against our will. It is difficult to talk about 1956 and about freedom while disconnecting that from what is happening today, he said.
We are grateful to the President of Poland for coming to Budapest to attend the 23 October commemoration, because although 1956 was a Hungarian war of independence, the Polish were also involved and this is something we will not forget, he added.
An agreement must be concluded on competitiveness
Mr. Orbán explained: Hungary has a private economy, meaning the Government is not capable of creating a good economic policy and improving competitiveness alone; this requires an agreement with representatives of the private sector.
The Government would like to conclude an agreement with them, the important elements of which include the direction of vocational training, wage policy and the tax system, in addition to key issues such as the future of youth and education, the Prime Minister indicated.
There is always heated debate about whether or not the economy is moving in the right direction, this is an integral part of democracy, he explained. It is important to assess whether the work we are performing makes sense and serves the people, he added.
It is an impressive change that people from outside Hungarian politics have also stated that the Hungarian economy is in good condition and have recommended that investors “should once again not hesitate to come to Hungary”. This means that the economic opportunities provided by the Hungarian economy have expanded and improved, and the Minister for National Economy must assess this and put forward a proposal on how to move forward, he pointed out.
Mr. Orbán stressed: The goal is a work-based economic system and one of the most important, central elements of this is full employment. Unemployment in Hungary is now under 5 percent, meaning we are approaching a stage where we must tackle a shortage of labour, he said. The Prime Minister pointed out: The Government had previously promised to create one million jobs over the course of ten years; six years have passed and we are now at 660-670 thousand, meaning the chances of success aren’t bad at all.
Just as there is a new majority in Hungary against immigration policy or the issue of mass migration, this would also be important with regard to economic policy, and this requires negotiation, just as the Government held negotiations on the vocational training system with the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Prime Minister highlighted.
According to Mr. Orbán, the Government and the active participants of the Hungarian economy recognise problems, are good at identifying the real challenges and are working mutually to find the rights solutions. And the Government then transposes their joint ideas into legislation, he explained.