After reporting on last week’s EU summit prior to the start of daily business in Parliament and after hearing the reactions of parliamentary group leaders, Viktor Orbán rejected criticisms of Hungarians working abroad; he pointed to the fact that people decide on this for various reasons, and it is not legitimate to contest their right to do so.

We should rather say – he went on – that “we respect them for their bravery, determination and strength”. He added that those concerned send back home a significant proportion of their salaries, worth some EUR 2 billion. The Prime Minister pointed out that the Government also owes recognition to those outside Hungary who are trying to do more for their families’ welfare – even though this may involve risk for them.

Mr. Orbán thanked the KDNP and Fidesz for their positive comments, but he advised the MSZP to consult with their fellow Socialists in the European Parliament on the issue of the British referendum.  Addressing the MSZP leader József Tóbiás, the Prime Minister said that the European Socialists will then explain how the agreement should be interpreted, and “They will not be as polite as we are regarding factual errors”.

In relation to the MSZP’s arguments on migration, Mr. Orbán said that if the Socialists had been governing Hungary over the past one and a half years, hundreds of thousands of unidentified, unknown foreigners posing a direct danger to Hungarians’ security would now be in the country. “Had the Hungarian government followed the Socialists’ policy, Hungary would be exposed to a terror threat level similar to that of Paris, and women in Hungary would be exposed to the same danger as those women were on New Year’s Eve in Cologne”, Mr. Orbán pointed out.

He called the division within the EU a serious issue, and asked Mr. Tóbiás to talk to the French Socialists about it, because they are pioneers in this concept.

Replying to a comment from András Schiffer, the Prime Minister said that he does not know how to deal with “political dyslexia”: the final declaration must be read carefully, but if someone is still not able to comprehend it, he  will not be able to help them.

“Before commenting on it with more boldness than factual knowledge”, one should first rather understand what is laid down there, he suggested, adding that it has been clearly recorded in the texts that Slovakia and Hungary are continuously rejecting the quota. This has also been confirmed in the declaration by the Socialist President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, he noted.

The Prime Minister said that Parliament will be able to vote on the TTIP transatlantic free trade agreement, and he believes that it is time to modify the Treaty on the European Union, but Hungary is not capable of achieving this on its own.

Replying to the statements of Jobbik leader Gábor Vona, Mr. Orbán said that the agreement means that the concept of a United States of Europe has become more distant, but the new migration regulation brings it closer. Apart from the fact that it would be especially harmful for Hungary, opposition to the latter is also a matter of principle, he emphasised.

He also said that the voting rights of Hungarians living abroad will not be violated, and they can exercise them entirely in accordance with existing regulations.

As regards border protection, the Prime Minister said that there have been proposals and decisions which Jobbik has supported. He thanked them for this, but noted that there have also been proposals – especially on the deployment of the army – which Jobbik did not back. Mr. Orbán remarked that this is regrettable, and asked the opposition party to review its standpoint on the issue.

Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister; Photo: Károly Árvai/kormany.hu