Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday that he is ready to march to Brussels and “occupy” the center of the European Union to “defend Hungary’s freedom and sovereignty”, ahead of European Parliament elections later this year.
Orban, a nationalist who has been in power for 14 years, hopes his Fidesz party will benefit from a surge in far-right support across Europe as he prepares to take over the rotating EU presidency in the second half of the year.
Speaking at a rally in Budapest to mark Hungarian National Day, which commemorates the Hungarian Revolution against the Habsburg Monarchy in 1848, Orbán said the European elections are an opportunity to stand up for Hungary.
“If we want to defend the freedom and sovereignty of Hungary, we have no other choice but to occupy Brussels,” said Orban at a gathering of around 1,000 of his supporters.
“We will march to Brussels and bring change to the European Union ourselves,” he said.
Orban has long been at odds with other EU members over a range of issues, including refusing to send arms to Kiev and maintaining economic ties with Moscow since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in 2022.
He said the EU’s actions hurt farmers, hurt the middle class, hurt companies, “and on top of that, (draw) Europe into war.”
“We will not accept that Brussels left the Europeans alone, moreover, turned against them,” said Orban.
