Speech by Viktor Orbán at the plenary session of the European Parliament Distinguished Mr. President, Thank you very much for allowing me, six months after the Hungarian Presidency to be here again with you. It is always a pleasure to address a parliament, because whatever the institutional system, democracy still functions in Parliament, the Parliament is the heart of democracy. This is my opinion also and this is why I have been a member of parliament since 1990. I thank President Schulz, for making it possible for me to attend today. I am also grateful to the Danish Presidency for not raising an objection, for supporting the idea. And I am also grateful to President Barroso for his encouraging words. I came here to be with you today, because I received news that you wished to hold a debate on Hungary. I thought it appropriate to be at your disposal, to let you receive first-hand information on the intent of the government of Hungary. My presence is further justified by the increased European attention directed towards Hungary, in times when the atmosphere is already tense because of the European economic crisis. We have seen comprehensive, deeply rooted, great and exciting renewal during the past one and half years. Renewal was justified and urgent. Our country was threatened by economic collapse in 2010. In our country of ten million inhabitants, less than three million tax-payers paid for the country, there were more people living off state benefits than from the economy, there were no legal sanctions in place against paramilitary organizations, our country was on the verge of economic collapse and tragedy. We performed a huge work during the past one and half year. We are also proud of our work. Although we still have substantial economic difficulties, for the first time the budget in Hungary can be considered to be a stable one according to European norms; we have been reducing the state debt, our balance of payment is continuously positive, we have outlawed and disbanded paramilitary organizations, therefore every minority in Hungary is protected, including the national minorities, but also the Roma and the Jewish minorities, the Hungarian government will always protect these minorities in the future as well. During the past one and half years we have drafted a new constitution, 25 cardinal laws and 339 other laws. Over this period of one and a half years, we have passed 365 laws. We have implemented structural reforms. We have reorganized governance, the local government system, the public administration, the judiciary, the education, the health, the tax- and public revenue systems, as well as the pension and social services systems. We have reorganized everything that contributed to the state debt in Hungary. Naturally this infringed on interests, lobbies, businesses, hurt the interests of major business forces. It should suffice to think of the bank tax or the Hungarian crisis tax imposed on major companies. We drafted a new constitution to replace -- as the last among the former occupied countries - the communist constitution of 1949. I would like to make it clear to you that the renewal and reorganization in Hungary was done on the basis of European principles and European values. We have also relied on the best practices of EU Member States and the basic documents of the European Union. In light of a transformation of such pace and intensity, I find it natural; everyone in Hungary finds it natural that there are contested issues. Today I have sent a letter to President Barroso. I have expressed my opinion that the problems raised by the Commission can be remedied easily, in a simple and swift manner; that I hoped for rapid results from our meeting next week. At the same time, I would like to inform the honourable Parliament, that none of the concerned paragraphs sent to us by the Commission have an impact on the Hungarian constitution. Whatever the press writes, there was not one single complaint raised against the text of the Hungarian constitution adopted on 25 April last year. We adopted the constitution on 25 April last year. The Commission objected to two of the transitory arrangements related to the Constitution and we stand ready to remedy these two issues, but I would like to signal that so far nobody has raised any sort of legal concerns about any of the passages of the Hungarian constitution. I am convinced that this is all right. Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I am grateful to you for letting me speak. I ask you, to please continue to support the great changes and reorganization in Hungary in the spirit of European values. Hungary looks forward to the support of the European Parliament. Thank you for your kind attention!

• published: 20 Jan 2012
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