Speeches

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.