Hungarian Prime Minister-elect Péter Magyar said on Monday he is ready to take office quickly and called on the country’s president to convene parliament to form a new government “as quickly as possible,” expressing hope to succeed Viktor Orbán as prime minister as early as 5 May.
Magyar held a three-hour international press conference in Budapest, taking questions on a wide range of issues.
“The Hungarian people did not vote for a simple change of government, but for a complete change of regime,” he said.
Below are the key points from his remarks on European affairs :
Unblock EU funds
Magyar said securing frozen EU funds is his government’s top priority, as the European Commission has suspended €17 billion of the €27 billion allocated to Hungary.
Budapest’s defence plan under the SAFE programme — the €150 billion loan instrument to boost defence production across the bloc — has also yet to be approved.
Magyar said he had a four-point plan to reach an agreement on the release of EU funds for Hungary and is already in active negotiations with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“These are anti-corruption measures, including joining the European Public Prosecutor’s Office,” Magyar said, referring to the EU’s independent prosecutorial body, which Hungary had chosen not to join. “The second is to restore the independence of the judiciary and investigative authorities, the third is to ensure freedom of the press, and the fourth is to liberate Hungarian universities and academic freedom.”
He said he hoped the plan would be sufficient to unlock decisions “as quickly as possible.”
Join Eurozone
Magyar said his government would evaluate joining the eurozone, a key campaign pledge.
“The majority of Hungarian people and the majority of Hungarian business leaders believe that it would give the Hungarian economy a degree of stability if we set a date for joining the eurozone” Magyar said.
He added that they will need first to examine the state of the budget and conduct a swift consultation before setting a date for the accession.
Keep an opt-out on Ukraine loan
Magyar said Hungary wants friendly relations with all its neighbours, including Ukraine, and indicated he would be willing to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He stressed that Ukraine cannot be compelled to accept a peace deal that requires it to cede territory.
“No other country has the right to say that you should give up this or that territory. Anyone who says such a thing is a traitor himself,” Magyar said.
On the EU’s €90 billion loan package to Ukraine, Magyar said he supports Hungary’s opt-out, negotiated by the Orbán government, citing Hungary’s bad budgetary situation.
Magyar also said Ukraine’s EU accession “in the next ten years” would not be realistic, and opposed any fast-track of the country’s EU membership.
Continue purchasing Russian oil
Magyar said Russia must end the war, and that he would deliver that message to President Vladimir Putin directly if given the opportunity.
“If Vladimir Putin calls, I’ll pick up the phone. If we did talk, I could tell him that it would be nice to end the killing after four years and end the war.”
“It would probably be a short phone conversation and I don’t think he would end the war on my advice,” he added.
On energy, Magyar said the country will continue purchasing Russian energy and prioritise the cheapest available oil, a stance that appears to contrast with his campaign pledge to phase out Russian energy imports by 2035.
Oppose the EU’s Migration Pact
Magyar said Hungary must resolve the issue of the €1 million daily fines it faces for non-compliance with a previous European Court of Justice ruling on the treatment of migrants.
“There are other countries that have managed to comply with EU law without allowing irregular migrants to enter. If Slovakia and Poland could solve this, then so can we.”
Magyar said he opposes the EU’s migration pact and intends to maintain the border fence built under the Orbán government.
“Hungary takes a very strict stance on illegal migration. It will not accept any pact or allocation mechanism, and we will keep the southern border fence — and patch up the holes that are there now.”
He added that Hungary could contribute to other countries’ defence capabilities by deploying border guards.