Commenting on the quota referendum, he said a referendum is the only thing that Brussels cannot shake off. If the referendum in Hungary is successful, Brussels will back off, he added.

“The Hungarian government wants a democratic European Union whose internal relations, rules for everyday living, ethnic composition and culture are determined by Europeans and not an elite of bureaucrats in Brussels, who are acting in contrast to the wish of the European peoples,” he said.

He insisted that uncontrolled immigration is not a human rights issue but a security issue. “Nobody wants to hand over the keys of his home to strangers,” Orbán said. If Hungary allows forced settlements, Budapest and other Hungarian cities will be impossible to recognise within twenty or thirty years, he said.

Orbán also said the state of affairs is slowly emerging that Germany and central Europe together can be called the core of the EU since without the region the Union’s economy would not be growing from year to year but rather the opposite.

Discussing the continent’s demographic situation, Orbán said the question arises as to whether Europe wants to take part in the demographic contest or not. “Why should we grow our population at the same pace as other countries in the world?”

He said Europe with its current population, or indeed a smaller one, is viable and sustainable. He said it would be better were there more young people but this can only be achieved with family-oriented policies.

“If we find economic tools [in Hungary] to ensure that families feel they can thrive with two, three, four or five children, then I think this can be undertaken … But don’t ask me to produce this result within a few years. For this we need a couple of parliamentary cycles,” the prime minister said.

Source: www.hungarymatters.hu
Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.