In a speech to MPs, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused Brussels of abusing power and vowed to oppose the EU's plan of "gender lunacy and a liberal Europe."

After being elected for a fourth consecutive term in April, Orban took the oath of office on Monday. In his customary style, the premier did not hold back when addressing parliament. “Brussels is abusing its power every day, and it wants to force on us things we don’t want,” the prime minister said.

In Orban’s opinion, the EU leadership is seeking to reduce the sovereignty of member states and to build “the United States of Europe.”

“Cultural alienation is growing between western and eastern Europe,” Orban claimed.

However, he maintained that Hungary should remain in the European Union as long as it can maintain its “independent and free country” status.

“We are not members of the European Union because it is as it is, but as it could be,” he explained.

Age of danger

Orban predicted that the current decade would be an "age of danger," filled with insecurity, conflicts, illnesses, and more immigration, and vowed to reject any attempts by the West to engage Hungary in what he called "suicide waves."

“The picture of the decade of war ahead of us also includes the suicide waves of the Western world,” Orban said. As instances of such "suicide waves," he referenced the influx of migrants to fill the insufficient number of European citizens, as well as the "agenda of gender madness and a liberal Europe."

“In this situation, the route for Hungary must be set,” the prime minister said, before expressing certainty that his compatriots will be able to resist attacks on their national identity and traditions, as these are “carved out of hardwood.”

Sanctions on Russia 

In response to the sixth package of sanctions being prepared by the EU in response to the war in Ukraine, which includes a gradual ban on Russian hydrocarbons, Orban assured parliament that his country would not oppose imposing new restrictions on Moscow as long as they did not jeopardize Hungary's energy security.

Earlier, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen traveled to Budapest to convince Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to agree on the EU sanctions against Russia.

According to Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, Von der Leyen could not convince Budapest that it could safely join sanctions without putting the country's energy security at risk. The Foreign Minister stressed that Hungary will insist on exempting pipeline oil imports from the sanctions.

Moreover, after proposing a ban on Russian oil imports to the EU, von der Leyen was met with immediate opposition from Hungary.

Orban said that Budapest should retain an independent stance within the European Union and that the same holds for NATO membership. “NATO is a firm supporter, but it will not defend Hungary for us… The most urgent task is to strengthen the Hungarian army and make it a real army,” the prime minister stressed.