MEGA! Hungary Channels Trump, Vows to ‘Make Europe Great Again’ with EU Presidency

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, greets Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, at the W
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Kurt Zindulka

The Hungarian government appears to have taken a cue from former President Donald Trump as it is set to take over the presidency of the Council of the European Union, vowing to “Make Europe Great Again”.

Budapest has unveiled its agenda as it prepares to take over the rotating presidency on July 1st until the end of the year. Alongside a seven-point policy programme, Hungary also revealed its logo for its presidency, which featured the Hungarian-invented Rubix cube as well as the Trump-inspired “Make Europe Great Again!”.

The choice of the slogan, an apparently conscious thumb in the eye of the failures of globalist policies favoured by elites in Brussels, is perhaps not surprising given that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been Donald Trump’s closest ally and staunchest defender within the EU since 2016.

The agenda put forward by the Hungarian government was also Trumpian in its ethos, focussing heavily on spurring economic growth and clamping down on illegal immigration.

Calling for the EU-wide adoption of a “New European Competitiveness Deal”, Budapest said: “Our aim is to contribute to the development of a technology-neutral industrial strategy, a framework for boosting European productivity, an open economy and international economic cooperation, as well as a flexible labour market that creates secure jobs and offers rising wages in Europe, which is a crucial factor to growth and competitiveness.”

On illegal immigration, Hungary — one of the few European countries to erect a border barrier to shut down illegal crossings — said that they “intend to highlight the importance of external border protection and the need for EU funds for this purpose”

Budapest also vowed to use the bully pulpit of the presidency of the Council of the European Union to highlight the need to address the demographic challenges currently facing most European nations.

“The accelerating ageing of European societies, unsustainable social welfare systems, and labour shortages are long-standing and intensifying problems in all of Europe that need to be addressed urgently and effectively… These problems have become increasingly important for the competitiveness of the EU and the sustainability of public finances,” they wrote.

Orbán’s conservative government has been at the forefront in highlighting the need to promote strong families, arguing that Western nations should not merely resign themselves to the supposed eventuality of their native populations collapsing and therefore turn to mass migration to keep afloat.

Instead, Mr Orbán has sought to use economic levers of the state to incentivise native Hungarians to reproduce. In 2019, his government introduced a number of policies geared specifically towards supporting mothers, including the complete exemption of income tax for life for women who raised four or more children.

The government also introduced a loan scheme first-time newly wed women under the age of 40, the repayment of which would be forgiven if the family raised three children. Additionally, support schemes have been put forward to help young parents buy a family home and car.

The Hungarian government also called in its policy platform for an EU agricultural policy that was geared towards the needs of farmers, rather than merely on green ideology, an increased focus on European defence, and to promote EU enlargement based on “merit”, perhaps signalling opposition to the admission of Ukraine into the bloc, something which Prime Minister Orbán has consistently argued against.

Follow Kurt Zindulka on X: or e-mail to: kzindulka@breitbart.com

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