This year has been one of isolation for the European Union, with the community no longer playing a role in global politics, and all of Brussels’ frustration with Hungary can be understood from this position on the sidelines, said Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, on Monday in Budapest.
At a hearing of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee, the minister first explained that 2025 was a year of isolation for the European Union, with the community completely absent from the management of the conflicts currently taking place on the continent, and Brussels clearly no longer a player in world politics.
This marginalization explains all the frustration that appears in European statements, which cannot comprehend why the leader of a Central European country does not ask for permission from Western Europe to pursue a foreign policy based on national interests,”
he said. He also stated that this was the result of Brussels’ foreign policy, which is “overly ideological and based on illusions and political bias.” “Today, the European Union is pursuing a foreign policy strategy that is pro-war, pro-migration, and pro-gender, thereby completely isolating itself in global politics,” he said.
L-R: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, and European Council President António Costa. Photo: European Parliament/Laurie DIEFFEMBACQ
He then emphasized that mainstream liberal politicians had been competing for years to see who could make the most offensive remarks about U.S. President Donald Trump, so it was no surprise that the European Union had ultimately only managed to conclude an extremely unfavorable customs agreement with the United States. According to him, isolation from China has also increased, which the European Commission has described as a systemic rival, thereby “crossing all boundaries,” as it is not the system that should be competed with, but rather fruitful cooperation should be built, as evidenced by the example of Hungary. In this context, he criticized the violent interference in the division of labor within the global economy and in the normal cooperation between Eastern and Western countries.
Donald Trump and Ursula von der Leyen. Photo: European Commission/ Fred Guerdin
Péter Szijjártó also touched on the sanctions against Russia, which have now eliminated the EU’s economic growth model based on a combination of advanced Western technology and cheap Eastern energy sources, and nothing has replaced it.
In my view, it is not an answer that we in Europe now pay two to three times as much for gas as American economic actors, nor is it an answer that European companies pay four to five times as much for electricity as Chinese actors,”
he said. “Well, we have now adopted nineteen packages of sanctions in four years, and the Russian economy has still not been brought to its knees (…) On the other hand, we have caused Europe a lot of serious problems, for example by causing energy prices to skyrocket,” he warned.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán meets Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on November 28, 2025. Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Kommunikációs Főosztály/Fischer Zoltán
He also complained that the EU has isolated itself from many African and Asian countries by failing to conclude free trade and investment protection agreements with them because it keeps trying to force unrelated issues into such agreements. “What does Brussels’ gender ideology have to do with trade cooperation? And it is usually such ideologized issues that kill agreements that are in the European Union’s interest,” he said. The minister then stated that U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan represents a huge opportunity to end the war in Ukraine, which has been going on for almost four years.
We Hungarians fully and wholeheartedly support this, but let us not be naive! The Europeans will do everything they can to undermine this, just as they have undermined all peace efforts so far,”
he said.
Finally, he pointed out that if a diplomatic settlement is not achieved, the situation will continue to deteriorate day by day, more people will die, and the destruction will be even greater. “I think it is time for Europeans to take the side of peace. And here we have Hungary, here we have Budapest as the venue for peace talks (…) Both the American and Russian presidents have made it clear to the prime minister that preparations are underway, and as soon as the situation arises where such a summit can be concluded with an agreement, they will come to Budapest,” he added. He also promised that the Hungarian government would continue to pursue a patriotic foreign policy, focusing exclusively on national interests.
Via MTI; Featured photo: Pexels
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