Budapest, (EFE).- The Prime Minister of Hungary, the ultranationalist Viktor Orban, this Friday compared the project of the European Union (EU) with the plans for continental domination of the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
The head of government made that comparison in a speech in the town of Veszprém, one of the three European cultural capitals in 2023, stating that since the fall of the Roman Empire there have been various imperial attempts to restore the continental union.
“Byzantium, Charlemagne, (the emperor) Otto, Napoleon, Hitler, all dreamed of the unification of Europe, although starting from different bases. And this is still the case today,” Orbán declared, referring to the EU.
“Independent national existence and the idea of empire are present at the same time. National culture and European values. Sovereignty and, as expressed in Brussels, an ever closer union”, added the prime minister, contrary to the ideas of a more federal EU.
He also compared the EU to the Soviet Union
Orbán, who on other occasions has already compared the EU to the Soviet Union, advocates a union of sovereign states and describes attempts at a more federal Union as centralizing.
In his speech on Friday, he said the EU would have to find a “delicate balance” between national sovereignty and unity, or else it would face national conflicts and a bureaucratic “power machine” that abuses power.
Hungary has been a member of the EU since 2004 but since Orbán came to power in 2010 it has had numerous conflicts with Brussels, and the European Commission has blocked billions in community funds for violations of the rule of law.
Despite his constant criticism of Brussels, Orbán thanked the EU for naming Veszprém the cultural capital of Europe, which, he said, if the “Brussels bureaucrats” were able to forget about their “Hungarophobia” they could create “things wonderful”.