- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Hungary's Orban Calls EU Liberalism a 'Sclerotic Ideology'

© AP Photo / Ronald ZakHungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban addresses the media on the occasion of a meeting with Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann and Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner at the Hungarian Embassy in Vienna, Austria, Friday, Sept. 25, 2015.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban addresses the media on the occasion of a meeting with Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann and Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner at the Hungarian Embassy in Vienna, Austria, Friday, Sept. 25, 2015. - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Hungarian PM Viktor Orban has poured scorn on European liberalism, insisting that a change in Europe is necessary. He called for a new EU constitutional convention that restores more powers to nation states and weakens Brussels.

In an interview with the Politico magazine, Mr Orban suggested that the Paris attacks have laid bare the flaws in the EU dream.

"Liberalism in Europe now concentrates not on freedom but on political correctness. It became a sclerotic ideology. Dogmatic, may I say."

He says that currently, many states feel like they are being sidelined and undermined by the more influential European powers like Germany and the UK.

"[They say] you are not a democrat, you are not a good man, you belong to the bad guys.' "

He also claimed that previous attempts at explaining misgivings over Europe's handling of major issues like the migrant crisis, have been met with "very arrogant and aggressive" Western European "mainstream" views.

"We are morally labeled as xenophobic," Mr Orban said.

He warned that this unwillingness to be more pluralistic is now causing divisions within communities.

The recent terrorist attacks in Paris, in which 130 people died and many more were injured, have increased the fear and paranoia among European leaders and their public.

Some have suggested that the current open borders system, which allows unfettered travel across 26 European countries, is not fit for purpose and is being abused by people-smugglers and criminals.

"Of course it's not accepted, but the factual point is that all the terrorists are basically migrants. The question is when they migrated to the European Union," says Orban.

His views are highly contentious and have been dismissed as knee-jerk reactions to the Paris terror attacks. However, it is true that many of the suspects of the atrocity on November 13 were able to enter and move freely around Europe without detection form the security services.

© REUTERS / Leonhard FoegerA Hungarian police officer watches as migrants arrive at the train station in Hegyeshalom, Hungary, October 6, 2015
A Hungarian police officer watches as migrants arrive at the train station in Hegyeshalom, Hungary, October 6, 2015 - Sputnik International
A Hungarian police officer watches as migrants arrive at the train station in Hegyeshalom, Hungary, October 6, 2015

With terror alerts still high across Europe, it's unclear what will become of the EU.

However, with voices like Mr Orban continuing to dominate the headlines, key European principles like freedom of movement and trade could be facing significant changes.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала