Die Presse together with the Austrian Foreign Policy Society and the United Nations published the paper called European Voices, in which the conversation between Wolfgang Schüssel and Viktor Orbán has just been published.
The two politicians talked in the library of the Carmelite monastery, which houses the Prime Minister’s Office.
Wolfgang Schüssel started his speech by saying that in the next ten years, Central Europe will become one of the most important regions of the continent, so the focus will be on further enlargement, the need for increased military security, the structural reform of the European Union, the quality of democracy and the rule of law. He asked the Hungarian Prime Minister how he sees the next 10 years.
In his answer, Viktor Orbán explained that he does not doubt the positive development in Central Europe, but he has more doubts about the prosperity of the western part of Europe. According to him, the big question is whether they will be able to keep the entire continent in one union.
The welfare state model is outdated. If Western countries want to maintain their high level of welfare without making sure that people get jobs, then the system is over. That’s why everyone needs to have a job. People should only achieve prosperity at the cost of performance
Viktor Orbán expressed his opinion. He added that there is a question of security, and in this regard he said that, in his opinion, in Western societies, freedom and security are considered two opposing concepts.
He mentioned migration as a third issue. According to him, if Western countries are not strong enough to control their own borders, and if illegal migration continues at the current rate, then this may have consequences such as parallel societies or cultural insecurities.
Turning to security, Wolfgang Schüssel mentioned the Russian-Ukrainian war. He noted that Viktor Orbán had a lot of contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and asked the Hungarian Prime Minister whether he expected this aggression.
Not for many, many months. But two weeks before the conflict broke out, I was in Moscow and saw that this could happen. When I reported to the NATO Secretary General after my visit, I told him that we are in trouble because the Russians believe that sooner or later they will have to deal with the conflict with Ukraine by force if Ukraine wants to join NATO
said the Hungarian Prime Minister.
Wolfgang Schüssel and Viktor Orbán disagreed on many things regarding the war. According to the Hungarian Prime Minister, the Europeans should have done more at the diplomatic level to prevent the war, but according to the former Austrian Chancellor, the West used all means to prevent it.
Viktor Orbán also said that strength should be shown in order to be able to negotiate with the Russians, as well as that a ceasefire is needed, as according to him “there is no longer a reasonable discussion between the Russians and the West”, at the same time, according to Wolfgang Schüssel, an immediate ceasefire would be tantamount to the defeat of Ukraine.
It depends on how you see the future. Ukrainians can lose even more, even the war
– remarked Viktor Orbán, to which the former Austrian chancellor replied that Ukraine can only lose if Europe does not supply enough weapons, but according to the Hungarian Prime Minister, the Union is not able to provide the Ukrainians with the support they would need for victory.
The only constructive result is to immediately start negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the European Union, and at the same time start negotiating the ceasefire
Wolfgang Schüssel said. However, according to Viktor Orbán, the Russians will never accept Ukraine’s NATO membership.
The former Austrian chancellor drew a parallel between the Hungarian revolution of 1956 and the Russian-Ukrainian war. He noted that Ukrainians protect Europe as well as their own country.
We are not in danger of Russia attacking a NATO member state
– declared the Hungarian Prime Minister.
Regarding the future of Europe, the two politicians agreed that more money must be devoted to security. Viktor Orbán also noted that, in his opinion, we should return to the economic association.
More about economics and security and less about politics and values
Viktor Orbán said.
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2024-03-29 22:42:23