Hungarian conservative prime minister Viktor Orbán urged Europe to unite against the threats it faces, caused by rising security, economic, and migration challenges. “Our challenges are interconnected, and our answers must be as well,” the PM said in his opening speech at the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Budapest on Thursday, November 7th.
Hungary is the fifth country to host the EPC, a gathering of almost all of Europe’s leaders, who first met in Prague two years ago as a response to Russia’ invasion of Ukraine.
With the United Kingdom leaving the European Union in 2020—and with a host of Western Balkan and Eastern European countries’ EU membership aspirations put on hold—French President Emmanuel Macron initiated the EPC as a forum for not only members of the EU, but others, such as Turkey, the UK, non-EU Schengen member states, and Eastern European countries—excluding Russia and Belarus—to hold strategic discussions on the future of the continent.
Forty-two countries participated in the Budapest summit on Thursday, with the notable exception of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose government has just collapsed. The leaders of the EU institutions were also in attendance, as was NATO chief Mark Rutte.
In his opening speech Viktor Orbán said that Europe was in a “hard, complex, and dangerous” situation, citing such examples as the war in Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East and North Africa, the migration crisis, and the fragmentation of the global economy.
Speaking of illegal migration, he reiterated his well-known stance, namely Europe should stop letting migrants cross the external borders of the EU, and instead outsource asylum applications to safe non-EU countries, where the decision can be made to accept or deport migrants who wish to enter. He emphasised that for this to work, Europe needs to establish better cooperation with origin and transit countries.
Speaking later at the closing press conference, Orbán criticised international and EU courts for practising “judicial activism,” stating that they had interfered in the decisions of national governments, and stripped them of their right to defend their borders against illegal migration. He cited the hefty fine imposed by the European Court of Justice on Hungary, because his conservative government had defended its borders by refusing access to migrants, and forcing them to wait for their asylum applications to be assessed before gaining entry to the EU. Orbán also mentioned the Italian courts’ role in halting the deportation of migrants.
With regards to economic resilience, Orbán said that the COVID pandemic and geopolitical tensions had revealed the vulnerabilities of Europe’s open economy. He proposed balancing global connectivity with strategic autonomy, emphasising: “The key is reducing dependencies while protecting our national security interests.”
On the issue of security, the prime minister said that the war in Ukraine has destabilised the region, and that there is a need for a stronger European security framework. He posed the question “How can Europe assume greater responsibility for its own peace and security?”
Referring to the recent U.S. presidential election, which was won by the anti-war candidate Donald Trump, a close ally of Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister said that “the future of our ties with the United States is an unavoidable aspect of Europe’s security architecture.” He stressed that Europe must navigate this relationship while solidifying its autonomous role on the global stage.
Finally, he urged Europe to unite in addressing these challenges, reminding the assembled leaders that together we are stronger than apart.
The return of Donald Trump to the White House has irked the liberal European elites. His previous presidency (2017-21) was marked by an “America First” policy, which prioritised the national interests of the U.S. During his tenure, Trump forced European NATO members to pay more for their own defence instead of relying on the U.S., and he advocated for a non-interventionist policy, that sought to pull America out of constant wars instead of entering them.
“He was elected by the American people. He will defend the American interests,” French President Emmanuel Macron told the other leaders at the EPC summit, adding that it was not the role of European Union leaders to “comment on the election … to wonder if it is good or not.” “The question is whether we are willing to defend the European interest. It is the only question. It is our priority,” Macron said, seemingly in agreement with Orbán.
It is important that we do not disappear from a geopolitical point of view: it is time to act, to defend our national and European interests together, to believe in strategic autonomy, and to believe in our sovereignty.
The president also warned that NATO has to have a key role in European security, but Europe cannot delegate its security to the Americans.
Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, agreed that the continent needed to become less reliant on the United States. “We have to be more masters of our destiny. Not because of Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, but because of our children,” he said.
NATO chief Mark Rutte, who was Dutch prime minister during Trump’s first presidency, said
I worked with him very well for four years. He is extremely clear about what he wants. He understands that you have to deal with each other to come to joint positions. And I think we can do that.
Rutte also insisted that the challenges posed by Russia in Ukraine affected both sides of the Atlantic.
Russia is delivering the latest technology into North Korea in return for North Korean help with the war against Ukraine. And this is a threat not only to the European part of NATO, but also to the U.S. mainland.
Speaking at Thursday’s summit in Budapest, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged his western allies to keep supporting his country’s fight against Russia.
Russian forces have been making territorial gains in the past few months, as they continue their slow but steady advance. Zelensky admitted that there is now uncertainty over whether the U.S. would keep assisting Ukraine militarily, as Trump has vowed to end the war as soon as possible once he enters the White House. Kyiv understandably does not want to give up any of the territories Russia has occupied during the past two-and-a-half years, and is afraid that an immediate ceasefire or peace talks means it would have to settle for some sort of compromise.
“Since the July summit of the European Political Community in Great Britain, there has been much talk about giving in to Putin, retreating, and making some concessions. This is unacceptable for Ukraine and suicide for all of Europe,” he said, adding that Europe must show unity and adopt a “peace through strength” approach to face aggression from Russia and its allies.
Following the summit in Budapest, Viktor Orbán said that no formal decision had been taken, seeing as how this was an informal meeting, but said there had been a common agreement that Europe has to react to the result of the U.S. election, and that Europe has to take more responsibility for its own defence.
He said there are still disagreements on whether to continue funding the war in Ukraine or to aim to bring about a ceasefire, but “it is obvious that the pro-peace camp has grown significantly” with the outcome of the American elections.
