A country in the heart of Europe is suddenly talking about leaving the EU - is there a risk of a new "Brexit"?

Created: 02/12/2022, 19:21

By: Jonas Raab

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission: Will she have to hold exit talks soon?

© ZUMA Wire/imago

While the UK's departure from the European Union is still not fully digested, another country has announced that it is considering membership.

Budapest – Great Britain's Brexit * determined the headlines for years.

Everything is far from settled.

Now another head of state speaks for the first time about the possibility of leaving the European Union* – and provides a vague explanation for this.

"A holy war, a jihad", lead the EU.

With these accusations, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban* indicated that he was considering leaving the European Union.

In a speech to supporters in Budapest on Saturday (February 12), the right-wing politician called for the EU to show “tolerance” towards Hungary.

Otherwise it will not be possible to continue on a common path.

Hungary: Orban fears cuts in the EU budget - and speaks of leaving

Orban spoke of this a few days before the European Court of Justice* (ECJ) in Luxembourg is to rule on the EU's new rule of law mechanism.

The regulation stipulates that countries that violate the principles of the rule of law can have funds from the common EU budget cut.

Hungary and Poland had appealed against the mechanism decided in December 2020.

The ECJ is scheduled to announce its judgment next Wednesday (February 16).

EU bodies and human rights organizations accuse Orban, who has governed Hungary since 2010, of dismantling democracy and the rule of law.

Orban countered this assessment on Saturday.

"For them, the rule of law is a tool they want to use to knead us into something that resembles them," he said.

Hungary notes “growing cultural alienation” from Europe

However, Hungary would not want to become like Western Europe, just as it does not expect the West to adopt Hungarian asylum or family policies.

Hungary wants to keep the EU together “despite growing cultural alienation”.

That is why Budapest has repeatedly made “offers of tolerance” to both Brussels and Berlin.

“There is no other solution, only tolerance.

This is the only way we can find a common path,” Orban continued.

Almost 80 percent of people in Hungary welcome EU membership.

In the past, Orban had repeatedly launched sharp attacks against the “bureaucrats in Brussels”, but held back on threats to leave.

His annual State of the Union address coincided with the start of the campaign on Saturday.

On April 3, Hungarians will elect a new parliament.

For the first time, Orban is facing a united opposition whose alliance ranges from left to right.

Opinion polls predict a neck-and-neck race.