Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Saturday directed a fresh diatribe against the European Union over its “support for “population exchanges” and its “LGBT+ offensive”.
The far right leader, who described the EU as a “federalist empire”, lamented that in his view the bloc “rejects its Christian heritage and organises population exchanges through migration” during an address to a summer university at Baile Tusnad, a region of Romania with a sizeable Hungarian community.
Orban staunchly opposes liberalisation of EU asylum policy saying more migration will lead to a “great replacement programme” of ethnic Europeans.
The 60-year-old holds himself up as Europe’s personification of what he termed illiberal values during a 2014 polemical Baile Tusnad address and has decried “racial mixing.”
Orban has been a thorn in the side of Brussels with his controversial views opposing “federalist” government from Brussels. He sees the EU as a “rich but weak” bloc which is making a mistake in distancing itself from Moscow, notably over the war in Ukraine.
Orban, in power since 2010, also slammed EU liberalisation of laws on sexuality — and he again decried “the EU’s LGBT+ offensive against the family-friendly European nations”.
He told his audience: “We have no choice. Even if we like Europe, even at home, we must fight” to defend what he and his supporters regard as traditional Christian values.
Budapest and Brussels have clashed repeatedly over topics including the perceived weakening of the rule of law and Orban’s tough line against migration.
Last month, EU’s top court ruled that Hungary had failed to fulfil its obligations under the bloc’s law by “unduly hindering” people from seeking asylum.
Budapest risks losing billions in EU cohesion funds over its stance on rule of law and rights issues.
