Budapest will not hesitate to veto the EU budget proposal for the period after Brexit, which would condition access to EU funding on the member states' upholding the rule of law, said the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, on Friday.
“A unanimous decision is necessary (for the budget to be passed), so the Hungarians needn’t worry,” Orban said to the Hungary’s state-owned radio station. “There will be no budget until Hungary greenlights it,” he added.
Hungary, an EU member since 2004, is one of the biggest recipients of money from the EU funds.
Orban’s right-wing government has been criticised by Bruxelles on numerous occasions over decisions which were said to undermine the democratic standards in the country.
Orban said on Friday the EU confirmed in 2013 that the rule of law was respected in Hungary. “We can stay calm,” he added.
He was elected for his third consecutive term as Prime Minister in April this year, and has announced that he would work on building a “Christian democracy rooted in the European tradition.”
He promised not to weaken his stance on immigration politics, which is at the centre of his programme.
“I will not support an EU budget which would take from farmers, from research and development, to give to the countries which let the migrants in,” he said, adding that “not a single cent should be given for the migrants.”
The Hungarian Foreign Minister, Peter Szijjarto, on Thursday called the proposal “a blackmail, based on subjective criteria.”
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