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The liberal elite in Brussels cannot stay in its place. Europe needs new leadership, new patriotic leadership which does not build its own power but strengthens the Europe of nations, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Wednesday in Brussels at the presentation of the Hunyadi János Prize of the Civic Foundation for Hungary (PMA). This year, the second edition of the prize was awarded to Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.
In his speech, Mr Orbán emphasized that “our common task is to restore the Europe of nations.” We must take back the rights that have been “illegally confiscated” from nations in recent years. We must ensure that the rules apply equally and uniformly to all European member states. The “agents of the Soros network” must be expelled from the European Commission and corrupt lobbyists removed from the European Parliament, he said. We must ensure that corrupt dollars and euros cannot enter the Member States.
The European Union must not be a financial network designed to weaken national governments,
the Prime Minister stressed.
Deputy Prime Minister @matteosalvinimi stood firm when others caved, defending his homeland from illegal migration. Today, we honoured him with the Hunyadi János Award as a warrior for Europe’s future. The battles ahead will be tough, but Matteo will not stand alone. God bless… pic.twitter.com/mrPlCYlj3y
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) March 19, 2025
“The clean-up that our friends are doing in America will also be needed here in Brussels,” he stated. The era of progressive liberalism in Brussels is over, and a patriotic reshuffle is taking place across the Atlantic. Patriots are the strongest political force in central and southern Europe, he said. “The progressives have bought into Brussels. They dominate Brussels today. If we do not change this, Europe will soon fall apart before our eyes,” he claimed.
In his welcome speech, Viktor Orbán recalled that last autumn Matteo Salvini, “the statesman who defended his country and Europe,” was still under threat of prison. Salvini was persecuted by the globalists because he dared to stand up to them. However, it turned out that all the accusations were false, a witch-hunt for political ends, he said.
Matteo Salvini deserves not to be punished, but to be honored for all that he is doing,
he emphasized.
L-R: Matteo Salvini and Viktor Orbán. Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán
The Prime Minister said that János Hunyadi (a leading Hungarian military and political figure during the 15th century) and Salvini’s fight came from the same source, both guided by the same moral imperative: to defend Europe’s borders. Since 2015, nine million illegal migrants have entered Europe. “The number is eerily similar to the one we saw in the Soros plan in 2015. One million a year, the plan not only exists, it works,” Mr Orbán stated. If migrants were a single country, it would be the 15th largest in the European Union today, he pointed out.
He stressed that Hungary had stopped illegal migration on land, while Matteo Salvini had stopped it at sea.
We have both defended our nations, and the result is that both Italy and Hungary now have patriots in government,”
he said.
Viktor Orbán concluded by stressing that Salvini was defending not just a country, not just his own country, but an entire civilization. The stakes are high, the battle is for the soul of the Western world, but even the most difficult struggle is worth fighting for, he stressed.
In his speech, Matteo Salvini said that the real problem for Europe is that “some people have allowed illegal migrants to penetrate into the heart of Europe”. The Italian politician reminded that the most fundamental threat was Islamic extremism and the uncontrolled influx of foreigners. He added that those who oppose it risk lawsuits.
It is important to defend freedom of expression. We must not give in to censorship,”
Salvini emphasized, adding that the new leadership in Washington “represents a great hope” for Europeans in terms of freedom.
Matteo Salvini at the award ceremony. Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán
He recalled that the European Union was created to prevent new wars. While many countries besides the United States are already working for peace, Europe is working to continue the war in Ukraine. “Our task is to take justice back from parliament to parliament,” he said. “We must put all our energy and all our good will into winning what seems to be lost, what seems impossible but is important to us,” stated Matteo Salvini in his speech.
Via MTI, Featured photo via MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán