Speeches

The European Union has approached the challenges posed by COVID-19 on the basis of solidarity and community coordination. We have set up and adopted the EU funds for economic recovery with unprecedented speed, and now, following the acceleration of vaccination campaigns, we need to make the free movement of citizens accessible again. To this end, the EU Digital COVID Certificate was created and entered into force on 1 July, the week following the incredibly fast completion of the urgency procedure. According to the Regulation, the certificate is valid in all EU Member States, as well as in Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland and includes, inter alia, proof of vaccination, illness or a negative test result. The certificate must be made available free of charge to all EU citizens. As a Hungarian citizen, however, I regret that the digital protection certificate issued by the Orbán government is unsuitable for ensuring free travel, as in several cases errors occur when reading it. Without the proper functioning of the EU Digital COVID Certificate, it is problematic to enter another European country and the testing and karate required in many cases imposes an extra cost and burden on Hungarian citizens. It is unacceptable that the Orbán government is once again putting Hungarian citizens at a disadvantage with its separate policy! As European Hungarians, we demand that technological problems be solved as soon as possible so that all European citizens can regain their right to free movement!

Dear Madam President, I, like my fellow rapporteurs, thank the institutions concerned and all colleagues in Parliament for their constructive cooperation, particularly and above all the shadow rapporteurs. Today's debate, and perhaps even more so the several months of preparatory process that preceded it, has shown that Parliament can fulfil its credible scrutiny role when it does its work on the basis of cooperation and shared responsibility. Political differences are quite natural in politics and here in Parliament, but we have an obligation to represent and work with respect and fairness and honesty, taking into account the interests of European citizens. The discharge procedure we talked about today is precisely about this: it is not some crappy political game, but our common guard over public funds and our common responsibility in this regard. When transparency and accountability are not only an expectation, but also an essential condition. We need to talk about this because these common principles and values are under increasing pressure in the European Union. External threats, disinformation campaigns from all over the world and political aspirations that undermine trust in the EU institutions are increasingly testing the European Union, which is why it is particularly important to consistently stand up for the values we have been talking about: democracy, the rule of law, transparency and accountability. This is what these debates are about, and this is what the discharge procedure of the European Parliament is about, as one of the most important democratic scrutiny tools in the functioning of the European Union and in the realisation of the scrutiny role of the European Parliament. Thank you all again for your contribution to this work.

Dear Mr President, First of all, I would like to thank the European Court of Auditors for the thorough and comprehensive audit work carried out in recent months on audits involving the Joint Undertakings and other EU institutions. Dear colleagues, The discharge procedure is not a technical obligation for Parliament, but one of the strongest instruments of democratic accountability. We must therefore consistently advocate transparency, the rule of law and the responsible use of European taxpayers' money. These principles are not negotiable. According to the findings of the European Court of Auditors, the financial management of the Joint Undertakings and the majority of the other EU institutions was fundamentally sound and the risk of error remains low, which is a positive development compared to previous years, but we cannot hide the problems and weaknesses. For example, we see structural weaknesses in several JUs in relation to programme implementation, human resources management and the functioning of management and internal control systems. These systemic problems will need to be addressed in the coming financial years through targeted corrective measures and even closer financial supervision than is currently the case. This is what my colleagues and I have proposed in the reports. In addition, we cannot ignore the increasingly worrying geopolitical situation. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, or the recent war events in the Middle East, are all having a direct and very clear impact on the operation of several joint ventures, which could result in supply chains being disrupted, projects being delayed and delayed, or we are seeing a significant increase in the costs of these projects. Allow me to deal with a single joint venture separately and in a little more detail, because it deserves special attention. This is the ITER Joint Undertaking for Fusion Energy, which is a security and strategic risk because Russia is already a cooperating partner and a strategic partner in this undertaking, and therefore Russia's participation automatically poses a security and strategic risk. It is therefore crucial, and we need to talk about it, to fully implement EU sanctions, to completely end dependencies on Russia and to ensure that any kind of cooperation does not jeopardise the EU’s strategic values and interests. Joint Undertakings should also contribute to the diversification of supply chains and the creation of Europe's strategic sovereignty, because technological sovereignty is no longer a political slogan but a very evident, everyday European strategic interest. Eurosceptic and disinformation political narratives and campaigns affecting the European Union also pose a threat to the research and innovation programmes that run or are supported by these joint undertakings. Dear colleagues, Dear Parliament, I propose to adopt the discharge report as proposed, and in view of the problems it sets out, I suggest to you that we continue to monitor them in the coming years and, if changes are to be made to them, that we make these changes together. Thank you for listening to me.

Dear Mr President, In Europe, energy companies compete for consumers. Everyone can decide from whom and what kind of energy to buy. In Hungary, of course, the opposite happens: energy companies are stolen by friends, production, distribution and commerce all enrich them, and people's money is stolen with unfair system usage fees. Hungarian gasoline made from cheap Russian oil is the most expensive in the whole region. Today, a Hungarian family spends on average twice as much energy as an average European. This is why we are the poorest country in Europe, where even those who are not among the poor are forced to get cold in winter. Viktor Orbán's system is only about stealing, and perhaps the Felcsút balloon did not profit as much from anything as it did from energy. The symbol of his corrupt rule is a gas mechanic. If he could, he might even steal the sun from above our heads. It wasn't by chance that his son-in-law founded solar power companies. It's high time we chase them out of their palaces at the April elections and send them to places where the sun is not shining and where there is no light switch on the wall.

Dear Mr President, There is a saying in Hungary that we always laugh at. It reads like this: "the Russians are already in the pantry". But what's going on with us these days, unfortunately, isn't funny at all. When Europeans hear of Putin, they think of Ukraine, fake news, presidential elections in Romania, air-raid fighters or drones. The threat is much more diverse. In Budapest, Russian propaganda is not spread by agents, but by the Hungarian government spokesperson. In addition to Moscow, it is not the Russian ambassador who is lobbying, but the Hungarian foreign minister. Their spies don't conspire in hiding places, they conspire in a spy bank founded for them. Putin's people can get not only visas, but also citizenship and honors, especially when it comes to Russian pedophile priests. Orban only buys oil and gas from them. Last week, he applauded Trump's Russian-dictated plan more than Putin himself. Europe must know that the Russians have long been present not only in the pantry, but also in the European institutions, the European Council and the European Parliament through the person of Orbán. And that's not a joke at all.

Madam President, I'm sorry. The Hungarian government believes that the problem is not that Hungary has been stolen and destroyed, but that the newspaper writes about it. This is why they want a law similar to Putin's censorship law to be adopted in Hungary to silence the press, civilians and the opposition. According to the law, anyone who disputes Fidesz's five-point, far-right-populist ideology can be prosecuted. I'll line it up! If you're not pro-Putin, you'll be prosecuted. If you don't think religion is a matter for the state, then there's a ban. If you were to recognize the rights of the LGBTQ community, the authorities would be on your shoulders. If you think it's a problem that people from beyond the borders who have never lived in the country can vote, then they say they are guilty, and fifth, if you think that Hungary is not a democratic state governed by the rule of law, then the fine will come. Dear fellow Members, The question now is, does the European Union really exist? I know this question may seem strange right here in this House, but think about it. If this can be done, if it is possible to ban the free press and all dissent in an EU Member State, then practically anything can be done against EU citizens. And what can be done against them in one Member State can sooner or later be done against them in others, if the political winds so bring it. I ask you to show together that the EU exists and protects its citizens. It is not for Orbán to initiate proceedings against dissidents, but for the Union to initiate and complete all proceedings against the Orbán government in defence of the Hungarian people, because that is the task of the Union. This is what the Hungarian people and honest Hungarian citizens demand from the Union!

Dear Mr President, Fearing the loss of power, Viktor Orbán is transforming the illiberal state he has built up over the past 15 years into an open Putin dictatorship. Right now, it is making the right of assembly impossible by restricting members of the Hungarian LGBTQ community in their liberties. Let's talk openly. Prohibiting Pride is filthy homophobia, no matter how much they try to falsely portray it as child protection. And the saddest thing about this is that it all happens with the complicity of the entire Hungarian right. Despite sitting here in the European Parliament in three different factions, the Hungarian right-wing parties are moving in the same direction on this issue, albeit for different reasons. Once again, a strange coalition of Hungarian right-wing parties has been formed in the European Parliament. Complicity in shame. Some people are enthusiastically bidding on each other, for example Fidesz or Our Homeland. And there are those who, like the Tisza party sitting in the EPP faction, silently, skulking and blundering, trusting that they can buck, flatten, talk about rubber bones, dance peacocks, talk about the right to assemble without saying the word Pride, and if they had to vote, as in the last time in the Budapest General Assembly, they would most likely not find the voting button. There is only one Hungarian party in the European Parliament that uncompromisingly proclaims that no one should be deprived of their most basic democratic rights simply because they have a different gender identity or sexual orientation from the majority. This is the Democratic Coalition. Because we don't joke about civil liberties. We don't hide, we don't hide, we don't tactic, we don't bargain. That's who we are! We are/we have been to Pride every year and we will be there again this year. I ask you, honourable democrats, fellow Members, from anywhere in Europe, to come this year too! Be part of the only banned European Pride. Let's laugh together in the eyes of the tyrant, let's experience together what it's like when power hunts us down with facial recognition systems. Let us meet in Budapest in June and show that Europe is not built on hatred, but on mutual acceptance.

Dear Mr President, We have known for years that Viktor Orbán's government uses the secret services against its political opponents. Previously, the spyware Pegasus was installed on the phones of opposition and journalists. Now it turns out that Orbán's secret service was also spying on the investigators of the EU's Anti-Fraud Office. They were tapped, followed, spied on. The reason was simple. OLAF was investigating the case of Viktor Orbán's son-in-law, and then it was investigating István Tiborcz, who in a few years had become one of the richest people in the country out of nowhere, out of obscurity, and it was investigating the very case with which Orbán's son-in-law had just established his billionaire fortune. So what do we see? Orban steals, Orban's son-in-law steals EU funds, and Orban's secret service takes action against the EU investigation agency. In addition, the secret surveillance was launched by the Minister of EU Finances, and according to press reports, a special team was formed to monitor the EU. The government-managed prosecutor's office, on the other hand, sees no problem with this, and has announced that it will not open an investigation into the surveillance of OLAF investigators, just as it was previously unwilling to investigate the disappearance of EU funds by Tiborcz. We are now at the point where the Minister of Intelligence of the Hungarian Government has been banned from the United States and placed on a sanctions list under the Magnitsky Act. Dear fellow Members, There is no chance that this case will be investigated in Hungary, so I ask the European Commission to launch an investigation and make it part of the rule of law procedure against the Orbán government, because the search for the truth is not only in the interest of the Hungarian people, but also in the interest of the whole European Union.

Madam President, I'm sorry. This weekend's EU summit is the end of half a year of shame. Viktor Orbán's presidency of the EU is coming to an end, an unprecedented failure and the worst achievement in the history of the EU. For the past six months, the Hungarian prime minister has been scheming, lying, at home and abroad, unscrupulously inciting against Europe. As an agent of Putin, he flew around the world lying about a peace mission while promoting Putin's war goals. Of course, Europe, thank God, did not give in: Here in Parliament, for example, in October Orbán received something that this house had never seen before, and most of the European politicians did not even attend the Council meetings in Budapest. At the same time, EU leaders have made it clear every time that they respect and respect the Hungarian people and do not equate Orbán with Hungary. Orbán's rotating presidency has no results. He betrayed the Europeans and betrayed the Hungarians. The good thing that happened in the EU this semester was not because of Orban, but in spite of him. The best thing about this presidency is that it's almost over. We hope that our Polish friends, who will take over the presidency from January, will quickly clean up the ruins.

Dear Madam President, Mr. Orban, I'm sorry. It was extremely entertaining to see that only far-right MEPs stood up for you in this debate, no one else besides them. I think it's time for you to finally take pride in the real deeds of this nationalist international. Mr. Orbán, why don't you tell your far-right comrades that more than 2,000 people smugglers were released from prison before their sentences are over? Is this how you protect your borders? Why don't you tell me that your government has pardoned a man involved in a paedophile crime? Is this how you protect your family? Why don't you brag about the biggest increase in food prices in Europe caused by your government? Why don't you tell your far-right allies what it feels like for you, as a far-right, to base the Hungarian economy on guest workers imported from the Far East? And please tell them about the institutionalized theft in which you have become the richest man in the country through your strawmen, and you are already resting in your own Habsburg Archduke's mansion. Mr Orbán, you are a traitor, you are a thief, you are a disgrace, you are a disgrace to Hungary! You shouldn't have been allowed in this building.

You know, Honourable Member, I live in Hungary, I am Hungarian, unlike you, and unfortunately we have seen many of these. You don't know because you probably haven't heard of it, but for years a Russian spy bank operated in Budapest with Hungarian money, Hungarian funding and Hungarian diplomatic immunity. They brought spies here in a spy bank. The Hungarian state has allowed this. Then it turned out that Russian spies could walk in and out of the IT system of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs without any control. When this became public, the Secretary of State shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, it happens." One by one, there are examples of Russian spies being allowed into Hungary, knowingly being allowed to move around with government permission. I'm not giving you examples, I'm giving you historical examples.

Madam President, I'm sorry. If you come to Hungary, you cannot take away the work of the Hungarians, the anti-refugee government billboards advertised on the Hungarian streets a few years ago. In the past few years, the Orbán government has already made Hungary one of the centres of immigration in Europe. The Hungarian Prime Minister always talks about border protection, but in reality he manufactures loopholes one after the other for those trying to reach the EU, without any real national security screening. We are no longer talking about guest work, we are not talking about migration, we are talking about a serious security risk. The Hungarian government has opened the doors of the European Union to Russian and Belarusian spies, sleeper agents and war criminals, among others. Of course, there was a precedent for this in Orbán's system. First, a residency bond could be issued to anyone who paid for it. Then here's what we're talking about: the national card, with which anyone can also enter the territory of Hungary or the European Union, only needs to document an employment relationship. It was the second method, but you know, it's not over. You've never heard of it, but there's a third act, the golden visa. To do this, you will only need money to stay in Hungary or in the European Union. Only this time, you will not have to buy a bond for the stay, but real estate or a real estate fund, even from the prime minister's son-in-law. This is what happens in Hungary: Putin's service is also associated with corruption. That fear is justified. Those who are admitted to Hungary by the Hungarian government, either with a national card or with a golden visa, are free to travel to Berlin, Rome, Paris, Madrid, anywhere within the European Union. Be clear: If there is a security breach in Hungary today, if there is a security breach anywhere in Europe, it is called Viktor Orbán. You don't even have to veto it. It is also enough to open the door to people in European countries whom you would never have let in on your own accord, because you know perfectly well that you are the delegates of the Russian or Belarusian dictator, with a well-defined destination and task. Orban is a ransomware virus in the EU that Vladimir Putin has installed and is using as long as we let him. I suggest we don't let it happen.

Mr. President, please. I know what you think of a government that steals EU funds from its own citizens. But let me tell you what Hungarians are experiencing under this governance, where the dismantling of democracy and the rule of law and mass corruption have led in everyday life. Hungary, the former country of success, is experiencing today that salaries in the country have fallen to the penultimate position in the European Union ranking. Today, Hungarians live by the fact that while the average inflation rate in the EU was 8 per cent, it was 26 per cent in Hungary. Hungarians live by the fact that food prices have risen by more than 50 percent. A few years ago, Hungarian pensions were worth more than two-thirds of wages, and now they are worth less than half. That most people die from cancer in our country, that the proportion of children attending school has decreased significantly in our country. The dictatorial exercise of power in Orban led to the inflation of the European record in Orban. The dismantling of the rule of law has also led to the loss of value of salaries and pensions. The erosion of freedom has gone hand in hand with the erosion of education and health. This should serve as a lesson for everyone in Europe, because autocrats know the order well. First, they take away people's freedom, and when people can no longer defend themselves without freedom, they also take away people's well-being. This is what is happening in Oregon today.

Dear Madam President, Unfortunately, the question in Hungary today is not whether EU money should come to the Hungarians. Unfortunately, the question now is whether EU funds should come to some selected Hungarians. Because Viktor Orbán does not allocate EU funds to the Hungarian people, municipalities and small businesses, but to his own business associates, oligarchs and family members. And that's not a prediction. This is evidenced by the history of the past 12 years, in which the Hungarian Prime Minister's childhood friend transformed from a simple village gas mechanic to the richest man in the country. After 12 years of theft, Orbán is now proving to Europe that he will set up an independent authority to detect corruption, that it will be possible to sue for systemic theft, that the system of public procurement will be different. It's like a group of hyenas trying to prove that they've already eaten half the savannah, but they'll be vegetarians in the future. It's a deception, it's a splash of dust. This is just a scam of the European Commission. Corruption in Orban cannot be curbed by institutions set up by Orbán. Instead of 17 pseudo-measures, there should be only one real measure: joining the European Public Prosecutor's Office. Only the European Public Prosecutor’s Office can deliver because it is truly independent of this system. Only this could guarantee that European taxpayers' money goes where it belongs, to the Hungarian people, to Hungarian small businesses and to Hungarian municipalities. We stand on the side of the Hungarian people, defend them and represent them when we insist on joining the European Public Prosecutor's Office.

Dear Madam President, Most of the EU funds coming to Hungary are being stolen by the Prime Minister's oligarchs. As the European Commission has suspended the disbursement of funds, these pro-government businesses have been left without orders, so now the government is doing everything it can to restart EU funds. Not for the sake of the people, of course, but so that they can continue to steal. A large package of laws has now been presented to the Hungarian Parliament for this reason. For example, a supposed anti-corruption authority would be created, the president of which would be appointed by another member of the Prime Minister's staff on the proposal of one member of the Prime Minister's staff. Will this authority be independent? You will not be independent, ladies and gentlemen. Or, for example, it would in principle be introduced to allow anyone to bring corruption cases before the courts, but this law was sent an hour after its vote to the Constitutional Court for examination, each member of which, each constitutional judge, was appointed by the current governing parties. Will there be corruption cases? There will be no procedures. These proposals are only intended to dazzle the European Commission. From afar, squinting, it may seem that these laws are about curbing corruption. In Hungary, however, everyone knows that this is just a charade, it's just a sprinkling. This is precisely why we voted against this package of laws in the Hungarian Parliament, because we want European Union funds to reach the Hungarian people, Hungarian municipalities and Hungarian businesses. However, the new laws aimed at defrauding the European Commission open up precisely the possibility of continuing the theft. They can't fool us with this. My fellow Members, Commissioner, please do not let yourselves be fooled.

Mr. President, please. We have prepared a great thing, dear colleagues. Finally, we wanted to impose a fair tax on the richest multinationals. There is a government in the European Union. It happens again that the Hungarian government wants to prevent this. For what? Because the Hungarian Prime Minister is actually defending the interests of the multinationals against the Hungarian small people. This is because Orban tends to put the burdens on the shoulders of small and medium-sized enterprises and the poorest, rather than on the shoulders of the richest. After all, the Hungarian prime minister always fought against the richest people only when he was not yet one of them. Until now, we may have believed that Viktor Orbán only became a Central European regional representative at Gazprom, but apparently he has now expanded his services to represent all the tax-avoiding multi-companies operating in Europe. Orban will veto, because he wants to use his veto for blackmail, because he hopes that if he threatens to veto, he can get EU funds without restoring the rule of law and eliminating state corruption. Well, we can't let that happen. Europe cannot be taken hostage by a thief, even if a prime minister is written on his business card.