"Crazy Idea": Orbán Slams EU Conscription Idea, Calls Role in Ukraine War ‘Irresponsible’

  • 30 May 2024 8:31 AM
"Crazy Idea": Orbán Slams EU Conscription Idea, Calls Role in Ukraine War ‘Irresponsible’
The Hungarian Prime Minister has strongly criticised the idea of compulsory EU-wide military conscription - Orban dismissed the conscription proposal as "insane" and a "crazy idea".

He said this after European People's Party Manfred Weber proposed reinstating mandatory military service across the European Union - see the video below.

HungaryMatters.hu reports that Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, on Tuesday called for rejecting "the very idea of European mandatory conscription", saying it must be made clear that "no one will take young Hungarians to the Ukrainian front".

Speaking at a campaign event in Nagykőrös, in central Hungary, Szijjártó said that with the EP election campaign in its home stretch, the “war psychosis in Brussels has reached its peak”. He said this was evidenced by several of his counterparts calling the French president’s remarks about the possibility of sending European troops to Ukraine “an excellent idea” at the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Monday.

He said “the idea of European conscriptions is obviously about taking young Europeans to the Ukrainian-Russian front to fight.”

“And we know full well how this usually works: well, boys, the ones closest will be the first to go. And then they’ll want to take young central Europeans and Hungarians to the Ukrainian-Russian front. Oh no they won’t!” “The very idea of European conscription must be rejected,” Szijjártó said.
 

"Crazy proposals" to introduce the draft in Europe "are unacceptable", the foreign minister said after a meeting of his EU counterparts in Brussels.
 

“The countdown” to the European parliamentary elections “is unfortunately bringing about an increase in war sentiment”, with many proposing more money and arms for Ukraine, “which can only result in further destruction and more deaths”, he said.

Referring to proposals aimed at allowing Ukraine to use Western arms against targets in Russia, Szijjártó said:

“They talk positively about an initiative for NATO countries to shoot down Russian missiles above Ukraine and, unfortunately, my fellow foreign ministers have not distanced themselves from threats of nuclear war,” he said, adding that such remarks and “crazy proposals” could have “dangerous and tragic consequences”.

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