At the same time, Orban openly states that the current course of the EU in terms of values does not coincide with Hungary's.
Viktor Orban. Photo: Thanassis Stavrakis / AP
The head of the Hungarian government, Viktor Orban, named two reasons why Hungary is not leaving the European Union.
The first reason, according to him, is that culturally, philosophically, and historically, Hungary has always belonged to the West, writes "European Truth."
"We belong to the Roman-Christian tradition of Europe, not the Orthodox or Muslim tradition, which is prevalent in the south. Therefore, for Hungarians, belonging to the European Union is, at least in part, a question of the civilization to which you belong," he said.
The second approach, Orban explained, is more pragmatic and related to economics.
"You know, this is a country of 10 million people. We lost our territories as a result of the First World War. We have no energy sources, no raw materials. Therefore, we were sentenced to death. But we survived. So, we need labor, products created by this labor, we need markets. And the European Union means a market," Orban stated.
He said that the European Union is not a value for Hungary, because "the direction in which the European Union is moving in terms of values has nothing to do with the values we profess."
Last year, Orban stated that his country does not intend to leave the European Union, but wants to "transform" the bloc.
Comments
Калі такі жорсткі механізм прыняцця ў ЕС, то мусіць быць і механізм прымусовага выключэння з ЕС, калі выбаршчыкі краіны пайшлі шляхам папулізму і адракаюцца ад еўрапейскіх каштоўнасцяў, а краіна сядзіць у ЕС выключна дзеля меркантыльных цікавасцяў карыстання грашыма ды рынкам, які дае ЕС.