Viktor Orbán Explains why He is Not Joining the Euro

It is the European Union that is isolated, not Hungary. We are walking on the main street of history, while the EU is stumbling somewhere in the muddy backstreets – said Viktor Orbán at the Lámfalussy conference in Budapest, reported Magyar Nemzet.

This year, the Hungarian Central Bank (MNB) is organizing the Lámfalussy conference for the tenth time. At the beginning of his speech, outgoing central bank governor György Matolcsy emphasized that the Lámfalussy program pays tribute to Sándor Lámfalussy, who is considered the father of the euro currency, and is of Hungarian origin. Furthermore, at today’s conference the MNB is also celebrating its 100th birthday this year.

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), emphasized in her acceptance speech for the Lámfalussy Prize that the role of the euro in the fight against inflation cannot be disputed today, and the efforts of Sándor Lámfalussy and his colleagues will not go without thanks today. She said that although central banks sacrificed some of their freedom by centralizing monetary policy, they also made their economies more secure and predictable, and this trust plays a huge role in the operation of economies today.

In her speech, Lagarde emphasized that the biggest question of today is whether national central banks can remain independent in such a volatile macroeconomic environment as today. In dealing with recent inflationary shocks, central banks acted quickly and forcefully in order to preserve price stability, and this was necessary in order to avoid the emergence of deeper economic problems – even if this meant curbing growth, she said.

Jeffrey D. Sachs, professor of economics at Columbia University, emphasized in his speech:

Viktor Orbán was the only European leader who saw that the EU and America had a huge role in Russia’s war against Ukraine, and that the fighting could only be concluded on a calm, negotiated basis.

America must exercise self-restraint, not provoke Russia and China, because war will only take us back as humanity, not forward. Europe needs peace with Russia and China, not war with countries that do not threaten them, emphasized the American academic.

At the beginning of his speech, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that the introduction of the euro was certainly of historical significance, but a common monetary policy without a common fiscal operation can cause a lot of problems – as has been seen more than once.

Since the introduction of the euro, the competitiveness of the United States has improved much more than that of the eurozone.

In its current form, the euro only benefits strong economies, it does not help the strengthening of emerging markets. This is precisely why Hungary is not yet a member of the monetary union – the Prime Minister emphasized.

The Prime Minister said: every nation has the right to consider itself the center of the world and the most important entity for it, therefore it must also be accepted that others see themselves in the same way. The question is only how we can prosper and grow in this new world, but for this we need to clarify what kind of world lies ahead of us.

The liberal era will be replaced by a sovereigntist era in the world,

the Prime Minister emphasized.

He also indicated that a country that cannot defend itself in this new world cannot be considered an ally by others, at most a subordinate: a country that cannot establish relations with the outside world is lost. Hungary is now in a situation where we have the best relations with America, China and Russia in the Western world, and this will play a huge role in shaping the emerging world.

Hungary is not isolated, but the European Union is. We are walking on the main street of history, while the Union is stumbling somewhere in the muddy side streets, claimed the Prime Minister.

Viktor Orbán said that the role of the middle class in this future world will be of paramount importance. Only a country with a strong middle class will be able to grow stably: this is what is happening in our country and in Asia, and in the Western model, all this social order has disintegrated, ceased to exist, and faded away. One million more people work here than in 2010, household wealth has increased fourfold over the same period, making the country the 13th best in the EU, the head of government pointed out.

Via Magyar Nemezet; Featured Image: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd