“Matters of principle must come before personnel decisions,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in Brussels, prior to attending an EU summit.

Such matters include for instance the fact that decisions on taxation must remain within a nation sphere of influence, he said, adding that he would also like to know whether member states would have the opportunity to decide themselves on guaranteeing cheap energy. He also stressed that the European Union should stop its practice of transferring powers away from member states either overtly or openly.

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On the subject of tax, the Prime Minister said that Europe is unable to support work to the same extent as Hungary, adding that Europe should pursue an economic policy that supports work.

Nation states protect their constitutional rights and if a central power such as Brussels wants to prevent them from doing so, it will create conflict, and modern European politics needs more consensus, not more conflict, the Prime Minister pointed out.

With regard to official nominations for top European posts, the Prime Minister said he had a list of candidates who would represent a position similar to Hungary's on the above-mentioned issues, but that he would only make the list public if officially requested to do so by the newly-elected President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.
Speaking on the situation in Ukraine and proposed new sanctions against Russia, Prime Minister Orbán said that if new sanctions are introduced they should not enter into the third phase and the scope of sanctions should not be extended, as this would be against the interests of both Europe and Hungary.

(Prime Minister's Office)