Hungary does not want EU with French leadership: PM

Hungary’s anti-immigration prime minister says he does not want a European Union “led by France," calling on Germany to be vigilant of “French concept” in the EU.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday that Budapest does “not want a European Union under French leadership,” which he said would be paid by Germany.

Orban said the European Union elections next year would be “decisive” because the member states need to decide on key issues such as immigration.

"We have never been faced with such a decisive election," Orban told the German Bild newspaper in comments published online.

"The Germans should above all be vigilant. There is a French concept, which fundamentally means: French leadership of Europe, paid for by German money," Orban said without mentioning French President Emmanuel Macron by name.

“The Europeans must be heard and we must wait for the European elections before taking some important decisions" on matters such as immigration and the budget, Orban added.

The French president put forward a proposal last month in a bid to find a political solution over the refugee crisis. Macron asked EU state members to show “solidarity” and share what he called the burden of refugees and host some of them who arrive on their shores.

Orban, who won a third consecutive term in April, has repeatedly clashed with the European Commission for refusing to comply with the bloc’s asylum rules.

The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, accused the Orban government of failing to provide refugees with effective access to asylum procedures.

It referred Budapest last week to the EU top tribunal, European Court of Justice (ECJ), for non-compliance of its asylum and return legislation with EU law."

Refugees are often held in transit zones on the EU’s external border and forced to wait in these special zones for significantly longer than the maximum four weeks allowed under EU rules. 

"The Commission considers that the indefinite detention of asylum-seekers in transit zones without respecting the applicable procedural guarantees is in breach of EU rules," said the commission.

The EU could impose financial sanctions on Hungary should the ECJ confirm Budapest’s violation of the EU rules.

Human Rights Watch has also repeatedly censured Hungary for its "cruel and violent treatment" of refugees.

Hungary passed a law last month, which puts behind bars anyone assisting refugees to enter the country illegally.

The country announced last week that it was withdrawing from a UN pact on migration, saying that the global deal encourages movements of people which are “dangerous for the world.”

Orban also said in Montenegro earlier this week that Europe continues to make “serious mistakes," and that his country was ready to help the small eastern European country “defend its territory” against refugees.

"Europe does not want to understand and acknowledge that it needs to refrain from moves that may be interpreted as an invitation in Africa or the Middle East... That is why people drown in the sea and remain jammed on migration routes," Orban added.

The Hungarian prime minister has accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of having encouraged the influx of refugees into the continent due to her open-door policy during the climax of the EU refugee crisis in 2015.

Europe has since been hit by an unprecedented influx of refugees fleeing conflicts, wars and poverty in the Middle East and North Africa.

Many blame the refugee crisis on the West’s intervention in the Middle East and Africa for decades.

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