Former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán is convinced that the rise of anti-migration and sovereigntist parties across Europe will continue despite his own electoral defeat, he said as he arrived in Brussels ahead of a gathering of leaders from the Patriots for Europe (PfE) alliance.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, June 17th, Orbán said his Fidesz party’s loss in Hungary’s April parliamentary election would not alter the broader political trend across the continent.
After sixteen years in power, Fidesz was defeated by Péter Magyar’s centrist, pro-Brussels Tisza Party, bringing an end to one of Europe’s longest-serving conservative governments.
Orbán travelled to Brussels before a meeting on Thursday with fellow leaders of parties belonging to the Patriots for Europe group, one of the European Parliament’s main right-wing alliances.
According to Orbán,
our electoral defeat does not change the fact that patriotic organisations and parties are continuing to advance across Europe. Anti-migration and sovereigntist parties will continue to grow stronger.
He argued that the European Union’s leadership had failed to deliver results on key issues, including migration, competitiveness, and the war in Ukraine, adding that Brussels must be reformed.
The former prime minister also renewed his criticism of the European Commission’s decision to freeze billions of euros in EU funds during his government’s tenure.
Orbán accused Brussels of using financial pressure to influence domestic politics. “Our response to this blackmail was to use our veto,” he said, adding: “The new Hungarian government is responding with surrender and will fulfil what Brussels demands.”
The new Tisza government’s less confrontational approach towards EU institutions could result in the release of €16.4 billion worth of frozen funds.
Orbán also strongly criticised the EU’s Migration Pact, which entered into force last week and aims to create a more harmonised asylum system across the bloc, while in effect ensuring that the EU remains a pull factor for migrants.
According to Orbán, the pact could force member states to accept migrants relocated from other countries, require them to build migrant reception facilities even when no migrants are present, and remove national veto powers during migration emergencies.
“The Migration Pact is unacceptable and contrary to Hungary’s interests,” he said.
Orbán also called for closer cooperation between Europe’s right-wing parties, arguing that the centre-right could no longer sustain alliances with the Left.
The cooperation of the Right is the way forward. If the Right wants to win, it must build this majority.
