In his regular interview on Kossuth Radio, the prime minister said that the confirmation of Olivér Várhelyi is the greatest diplomatic success in ten years, noting that his confirmation “is the success of many of us, since most of the country wants Hungarians to increase their influence in European politics.” Orbán also added that “many, however, wanted to prevent this from happening, both inside and outside the country; George Soros personally tried to reach the highest levels in order to achieve this.”
PM Orbán emphasized that the neighborhood policy is key to security, noting that the Neighborhood and Enlargement portfolio not only involves energy security issues on the side of the Caucasus and Azerbaijan but is “also affected by migration, as there are many migrants on the Western Balkans route.”
“Migration will remain a key issue for the next five years, and Hungary wants to protect its borders,” the prime minister said.
On the protection of the country’s economic success, PM Orbán said that “the most important issue for the country in 2020 will be to protect the performance of the Hungarian economy, as Germany will slow down significantly.” According to the PM, by 2020 there will be economic turmoil in the euro zone countries.
“Hungary must be protected from this,” the prime minister emphasized, adding that “a new economic protection action plan will be needed in 2020, which will be presented in the first quarter and an important part of which will be tax reduction.”
Touching upon the question of Hungarians living outside the borders of Hungary, the prime minister drew attention to the fact that “Hungary is a world nation. We have to forge an advantage for the millions of Hungarians living beyond our borders. We need to combine our strength and our relationships,” adding that “the biggest result of the Hungarian economy is coming from trade with neighboring countries, which is a great benefit.”
Responding to the question about the new EU budget, the prime minister said that in his opinion the payment of EU funds will not be linked to the rule of law. Regarding Fidesz’s EPP membership, the PM said that “it has not yet been decided whether the Hungarian government will continue its relationship with the European People's Party.” The main question is when the EPP will finally speak clearly, Viktor Orbán said, adding, “however, we cannot belong to a community that does not acknowledge border protection and take action against migration.”