Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that gaining the European Commission’s enlargement and neighbourhood portfolio is Hungary’s greatest diplomatic success of the last ten years. In an interview with the public Kossuth radio Orban said he cannot recall that Hungary had ever managed to attain comparable influence in the EU, adding that the Enlargement portfolio would be “the most important post” of the next five years.

Hungary’s PM pointed out that the portfolio covered migration, security and certain aspects of energy policy, as the Hungarian commissioner would also be in charge of the Caucasus and Azerbaijan.
Hungary’s prime minister stressed that securing the post was a success for “many of us”, the majority, but not for all Hungarians, as many sought to prevent the candidate’s appointment. He said the opposition joined forces in Brussels against Hungary’s candidate, while George Soros personally intervened to prevent Oliver Varhelyi’s appointment.

Orban said he would never delegate people to international posts who “aren’t good patriots or can’t reconcile that with an international mission,” as the two qualities are not mutually exclusive. He described Oliver Varhelyi as “an excellent patriot and a good citizen of the EU”, reported the V4 news agency.

Orban argued that, in order to protect the achievements of the economy in light of economic trouble in Germany, Hungary needs a new economic action plan based on tax cuts, which could be finalised by the first quarter of next year. He added that Hungary can expect serious battles to sustain its economic growth when the euro zone will face economic hardships. Orban said that “we’ll see next year” whether Hungary and Central Europe will be able to stand on their own feet and achieve greater success than richer countries. He also described the idea to link the payment of EU funds to certain rule of law criteria as nonsense, adding that he thought it was “not gonna happen.”

Commenting on remarks by Donald Tusk, the newly elected head of the European People’s Party, who said the right to freedom cannot be sacrificed for security, Hungary’s premier said Fidesz expected the EPP to clarify its views and plans. He said until that point, Hungary’s governing party will keep its membership in the party family suspended. The PM said Hungary’s ruling party could not belong to a pro-migration political community that failed to support border protection, the border fence, or denied respect to Hungarians and appreciation for the country’s efforts in protecting Europe. The EPP has drifted to the left, Orban said, adding that there was a question mark over whether the new leader can restore the original state of affairs. “If he can’t, we will have to build a new political community,” he said.