Central Europeans form "alliance for defense" - Orban

Central Europeans form "alliance for defense" - Orban

Leaders of Central European countries are "determined not to fall into the trap of several other European countries, which may not even be recognizable in a few years," he said.

Orban believes that progress has been made on the issue of migration, reports MTI.

The West Balkan route, he said, is now better defended thanks to an agreement reached by the EU with Turkey, and thanks to the much more decisive action by the Western Balkan countries.

He, however, pointed out that there are still challenges, such as the expected new influx of migrants in the fall, via Italy toward the Western Balkans.

The Hungarian prime minister stressed that Western Europeans are now saying what they think about the issue of migration, which is why their political leaders are finding it increasingly difficult to ignore them.

"Europeans have raised their voices and many now dare to speak. After 40 years of Communism, we'd gotten used to the idea of freedom of speech only being possible to the west of us," said Orban.

He added that people in the West are accustomed to trusting their leaders to solve problems, "even when their decisions seem strange."

"People are now saying that there are problems and that solutions are not good. The problems are getting bigger and have spread to people's private lives, because public safety is at risk," said Orban.

Western Europeans, continued the Hungarian prime minister, now realize they are allowed to say what they think and that politicians cannot afford to ignore their opinions.

"The elites cannot keep the eyes and ears closed on an issue of fundamental importance," said Orban.

According to him, the Hungarians recognized the problems in advance, but were ignored by Western Europe.

"It is now clear that we were right," said Orban, adding that those who were "attacking" Hungary last year were in fact afraid of its "way of thinking", but that it is now clear this way of thinking was justified.