'Backdoor for foreign interference': EU chief Von der Leyen slams Hungary's Orban for ties to Russia & China

In her most forceful speech so far, European Union (EU) chief Ursula von der Leyen has slammed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for doing the bidding of Russia and China.

Orban, the longstanding far-right leader of Hungary, is the principal ally of Russia and China in Europe. He has been critical of US and European support to Ukraine in the war with Russia and has instead called for the end of war as per the Chinese plan. He has said that while the United States and Europe have a war policy, China has a peace policy and that’s what’s needed.

Slamming such a stance, Von der Leyen asked Orban whether he would also blame Hungary’s own freedom fighters who fought the Soviet Union since he criticises Ukraine for fighting Russia.

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“There are still some who blame this war not on Putin’s lust for power but on Ukraine’s thirst for freedom, so I want to ask them: would they ever blame the Hungarians for the Soviet invasion in 1956? Or the Lithuanians for the Soviet crackdown of 1991,” said Von der Leyen.

Von der Leyen rips Orban’s stand on Ukraine, immigration

Referring to the Russian and Chinese inroads in Hungary under Orban’s premiership, Von der Leyen flagged the China-Hungary deal that allows the deployment of Chinese police inside Hungary. She also slammed the Hungarian immigration policy for Russians as a security risk for Europe.

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Von der Leyen said that the unchecked Russian arrivals and deployment of Chinese police comprised a “backdoor for foreign” interference.

“How can it be that the Hungarian government invites Russian nationals into our Union without additional security checks? This makes the new Hungarian Visa scheme a security risk, not only for Hungary but for all member states. And how can it be that the Hungarian government would allow Chinese police to operate within its territory? This is not defending Europe’s sovereignty. It is a backdoor for foreign interference,” said Von der Leyen.

Rejecting Orban and the far-right’s stand that Ukraine should have surrendered or accepted Russia’s terms for the sake of peace, Von der Leyen said that “there is no European language where peace is synonymous with surrender and sovereignty is synonymous with occupation”.

Von der Leyen further rejected Orban’s immigration. Even as the far-right leader talked of tougher immigration norms, she slammed him for releasing criminals before their terms were completed.

“You said that Hungary is protecting borders and that criminals are being locked up in Hungary. How does that fit with the fact that authorities last year released from prison convicted traffickers and smugglers before they ended their time?” said Von der Leyen.

On the economic front, Von der Leyen wonder how a European government could seek investment from European companies after taxing them more than others.

On his part, Orban said that the EU policy on Ukraine was “poorly planned and poorly implemented” and called on the bloc to resume communications with the Russia. He said, “The European Union has mistaken policy when it comes to this war. If we want to win, we need to change this losing strategy.”