Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, upon arriving in Brussels, met with protesting farmers in the city centre on Wednesday, 31 January. During the discussion, he emphasized the need for European leaders to pay much closer attention to the voice of the people.
Orbán had a meeting with former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Brussels on Wednesday evening. Addressing Belgian journalists, the Prime Minister stated that Europe requires new leaders and a new elite. He highlighted a democratic deficit where the concerns of the common people, whether related to migration or the war in Ukraine, are not taken seriously. The Prime Minister expressed concerns about the lack of proper respect for agriculture as a crucial element of the European economy within the European Union. He criticized unfavourable regulations imposed in several countries, making the situation difficult for farmers.
Orbán pointed out the more lenient regulations imposed on Ukrainian agriculture, creating an unfair competitive situation. He emphasized that the immediate sufferers include Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, who live directly adjacent to Ukraine. However, he warned that the danger and loss would eventually reach the internal parts of Europe, including Brussels, France, and Spain. According to the Hungarian Prime Minister, the European Commission should represent the interests of European farmers against Ukraine, rather than the other way around. He proposed putting a halt to the import of Ukrainian products due to differences in agricultural conditions and circumstances, causing severe losses for European farmers under EU regulations.
The Prime Minister posted a video on X about his visit with the protesting farmers.
In the video and in his press statements he asserted that ‘Brussels does not take the voice of the European people seriously’, adding that new leaders who do need to be elected in the upcoming European Parliament election elections in June.
On the same night night, Viktor Orbán held bilateral discussions with Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy, and later with Emmanuel Macron, the President of the French Republic. He engaged in talks with the leaders of Italy and France as part of the preparations for Thursday’s EU summit.
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Sources: Hungarian Conservative/Press Office of the Prime Minister/MTI
