Orbán: EU must undergo change on a scale not seen for 20-30 years

The prime minister urged the bloc to shift from fiscal conservatism to “the logic of a developer state”.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Saturday that the European Union must undergo change on a scale not seen for 20-30 years, urging the bloc to shift from fiscal conservatism to “the logic of a developer state”.

Speaking at an economic policy forum organised by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK), PM Orbán said that though criticism of the EU’s leadership may be warranted, “in fairness, we should keep in mind that the European Union has to do something that goes against the existing logic of its operations”. He added that it was not certain that the EU would be capable of making that change.

PM Orbán said that Germany, as the EU’s strongest member, had a decisive role in shaping the bloc’s economic philosophy, noting that Germany is preparing an 800 billion euro package for infrastructure development and defense spending.

“To do this, Germany is giving up its debt brake rule because … this money will have to be borrowed,” PM Orbán said. He added that this meant the EU’s deficit-to-GDP ratio was likely to exceed the 3 percent threshold which the EU deems acceptable under its current rules.