19 May 2015, Strasbourg

Mr. President, Esteemed Members of Parliament,

We have heard speakers from France, Italy, Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltic states. Without mentioning them by name, I would merely point out that as a matter of conscience I would never dream of talking about their countries, their peoples and their nations in such a manner. Therefore allow me the opportunity to express the respect of Hungary and the Hungarian nation for those countries represented by people who have attacked Hungary here today. Please allow me to refrain from responding to contributions from Hungarian Members of the European Parliament, because I would not like to turn this event into a petty Hungarian squabble, or to present our country in such a light. I shall simply acknowledge that Hungarian Members of the European Parliament have attacked their own country here today, and that furthermore one person even went so far as to suggest that the European Union should withdraw funding from Hungary because the country does not deserve it. May that be on their consciences.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

One speaker mentioned illiberal democracy. There is no time to elaborate on this here. I would merely say that, in my view, at the time of the 2008 financial crisis liberal organisational principles at work in the economy and in society clearly failed; this is why we are in the crisis that we find ourselves in today.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I was pleased to hear that many of you have read Sándor Márai. But do you not think it a little perverse for you to seek to explain to us Hungarians the content, the form and the spiritual essence of the work of our great national poet? I was pleased to acknowledge the contribution from Mr. Louis Michel, who lectured me on democracy. For your information, I have stood for election as prime minister six times, I have lost in three elections and won in three; there will probably be further occasions. I do not see this as evidence of a lack of democracy or of an autocratic regime.

Similarly, please allow me to respond to the leader of the Liberals.

Mr. President,

I believe I understand your situation and your motivations, because the Liberals were once a major party in Hungary, and played a significant role in the fight against communism. Yet they have almost completely disappeared from the public arena. I understand that this enrages European Liberals, but please do not be angry with Hungarian voters – including myself – on that account.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I ought to share one piece of information with those who object to our public consultation questionnaire. The leader of the Liberals finds the following question inappropriate: “Would you support the Hungarian Government in the introduction of more stringent immigration regulations, in contrast to Brussels’ lenient policy?” This lies at the root of the problem, this is the very heart of the matter! We had no such problem prior to 2012, Ladies and Gentlemen! Hungary had its national legislation, and it was able to detain asylum-seekers at the Hungarian border and to ensure that correct legal procedure was followed with respect  to them. In 2012 the European Union forced us to change the Hungarian regulations, and since that time economic migrants have flooded into the country. We would not have a problem today if you had not forced Hungary to change its regulations. I appreciate that the European Union wanted to test a new form of regulation in Hungary; a few years have gone by, and it clearly does not work. Please enable us to defend Hungary ourselves.

And finally, Ladies and Gentlemen, this will be a long debate – whether on the issue of the death penalty, the issue of asylum-seekers, or the issue of economic migrants. I am pleased that here today we have achieved our goal. The debate has begun. Even if this is going to be a long road, today Europe has taken the first step.

Thank you for your attention.

(Prime Minister's Office)