Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called for a revision of the European Union’s (EU) budget rules, warning that under the current framework, no member state will be able to meet NATO’s goal of allocating five percent of GDP for defense.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the NATO leaders’ meeting in The Hague, Orban emphasized that the goal is achievable, although it will not be easy.
“It’s not easy, but the entire framework of EU budget regulation must be changed,” said Orban, adding: “If it stays as it is, no country in the EU will be able to allocate five percent of GDP. So, we have to recalculate everything in a different way.”
The Hungarian Prime Minister also stressed that the biggest threat Europe faces today is not military, but economic.
“The real threat is not security-related, but economic – the loss of our competitiveness in global trade,” said Orban, adding: “I don’t think Russia is strong enough to be a real threat to us. We are much stronger.”
Orban emphasized that NATO has no reason to be present in Ukraine. “Ukraine is not a NATO member, nor is Russia. My job is to keep it that way,” he concluded.
