Subscribe here: [ Ссылка ] Viktor Orbán and Ursula von der Leyen clashed head-on during a fiery debate at the European Parliament on Wednesday that saw both leaders outline opposing visions for Europe's future and lay bare their strong dislike for each other.
Russia's war on Ukraine, how best to tackle Europe's loss of competitiveness issue and the rise in irregular migration were among the many areas of contention between the two.
The Hungarian premier dismissed the EU's response to the war as "poorly planned and poorly implemented" and called on the bloc to resume communications with the Kremlin, something he attempted to do in a controversial visit to Moscow in July.
"The European Union has mistaken policy when it comes to this war," he told MEPs on Wednesday morning. "If we want to win, we need to change this losing strategy."
Hungary prime minister's appearance in Strasbourg prompts song of protest. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola struggled to keep a group of left-leaning MEPs in check on Wednesday morning as they protested Viktor Orban’s presence with a rendition of the anti-fascist anthem Bella Ciao.
“This is not the Eurovision,” Metsola told the plenary as singing rang out following Orban’s speech.
The Hungarian prime minister was in Strasbourg to present the country’s priorities halfway through its EU Council presidency.
As President Vladimir Putin's closest ally within the European Union, Orban's government is at loggerheads with its partners on a host of issues -- from stalling aid for Kyiv, to what the bloc sees as weakening the rule of law at home.
Orban depicted a continent in crisis, with the Ukraine war on its doorstep and an acute "migration crisis" - declaring that "the European Union needs to change."
Lawmakers listened respectfully - with occasional applause from sympathetic members – but the floodgates of criticism were burst open by the Bella Ciao rendition that tail-ended his appearance.
Orban critics then took the floor and one by one let fly at the Hungarian leader with a message summed up by Green co-leader Terry Reintke who told him: "You are not welcome here".
Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, speaking right after Orban, pushed back hard - taking aim at Budapest's hampering of EU support for Kyiv and refusal to join Western efforts to arm Ukraine to fight off Moscow.
"There is only one path to achieve a just peace for Ukraine and for Europe, we must continue to empower Ukraine's resistance with political, financial and military support," von der Leyen said.
'Propaganda show'
When Hungary assumed the EU's rotating six-month presidency in July, Orban went off script: embarking on an uncoordinated Ukraine "peace mission" to Kyiv, Moscow and Beijing that sparked fury in Brussels.
In her forceful address von der Leyen targeted Orban's eagerness to push for an early peace deal with Putin over the Ukraine invasion - assailing those "who blame this war not on the invader but the invaded, not on Putin's lust for power, but on Ukraine's thirst for freedom."
Speaking next, the leader of the conservative European People's Party Manfred Weber likewise slammed his rogue diplomacy under the EU banner as "a big propaganda show for the autocrats."
Orban's uncoordinated trips prompted von der Leyen to order top officials to skip a series of meetings organised by Hungary's presidency - a de facto boycott - and his parliament address was twice delayed.
The commission chief skewered Orban's tough talk on migration - accusing his government of "throwing problems over your neighbour's fence" with the early release of convicted people-traffickers.
And she took aim at a Hungarian visa scheme for Russian nationals - calling it "a back door for foreign interference."
'Political weapon'
Given a right of reply, Orban accused the EU chief of using the commission's power as a "political weapon" to attack Budapest, and complained that a Hungarian-led new group in the EU parliament, the Patriots for Europe, was being unfairly denied positions of authority.
"We are never going to accept that European unity means that you tell us what to do and that we should keep quiet," he said.
Patriots member Jorge Buxade Villalba was one of several lawmakers who rallied to Orban's defence, calling his speech "a breath of fresh air in this parliament."
"Women are safer in Budapest streets than in Brussels," he said. "And if you were not so sectarian, we would see Hungary's government has a way of making a better life."
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