On the second day of the Budapest summit of the European Political Community, Charles Michel, President of the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán held a joint press conference.
Charles Michel spoke about: good discussions were held in Budapest these two days. Michel condemned the anti-Jewish attacks in Amsterdam and said he was committed to action against anti-Semitism.
He added:
European leaders discussed the results of the American election, congratulated Donald Trump and would strengthen transatlantic relations.
Economic cooperation with America and the joint representation of security policy interests were also discussed during the consultation with Trump. Global challenges, the climate crisis, digital issues, and changing economic paradigms were also topics.
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According to Michel, it became clear that the challenges in the world do not change, and it is therefore important to strengthen European integration and avoid fragmentation.
The Budapest Declaration is born, in which the new principles and milestones are defined.
As for defense and security: they have been talking about European sovereignty and strategic autonomy for years, which must now be strengthened. This requires much more cooperation. NATO is a fundamental pillar, but European cooperation is also needed. Further industrial developments in this area must be supported.
There is a heightened sense of urgency
Ursula von der Leyen also condemned the anti-Jewish attack in Amsterdam. He thanked Viktor Orbán for his hospitality in Budapest and for organizing the summit.
He thanked Charles Michel for his last leadership of the European Council, as the Belgian politician is now stepping down from his post. Many difficult issues have had to be resolved in recent years, but Von der Leyen says the European community is stronger than it was five years ago.
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The committee chairman said:
during the dinner they discussed the result of the American election, they will work together with the new leadership. He also congratulated Donald Trump on his victory. They discussed Ukraine and other defense issues.
The main topic of Friday was European competitiveness. Europe has the highest life expectancy, excellent education, low income inequality, and the greatest reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.
They also discussed Mario Draghi's competitiveness report. According to Von der Leyen, the report was received extremely well, and they continue to work on this basis.
What has also increased, according to Von der Leyen: the sense of urgency.
He sees three priorities: the innovation gap must be closed compared to competitors, there are still many obstacles in the way of innovative enterprises. These must be dismantled, and the administrative burden must be reduced. It is difficult for innovative startup companies to enter the common market, which is why a uniform system of rules for innovative businesses in the EU is needed.
Von der Leyen would put together a competitiveness, decarbonization and digitization plan for Europe's progress. You know that there is a huge energy crisis due to the war in Ukraine, and solving this will be one of the main tasks of the new Commission. New wiring and storage will be required. Addiction can quickly turn into vulnerability. The question of critical raw materials is also important, the demand for them in the world may increase exponentially. Europe needs further diversification, new trading partners in relation to raw materials. The other is the topic of the circular economy: recycling holds many possibilities. A lot can be extracted from a product that ends up in the trash.
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Here is the Budapest declaration
Viktor Orbán began his report by condemning the anti-Semitic riots in Amsterdam on behalf of Hungary. "You are now in a city where perhaps Europe's largest synagogue and the city's largest Catholic cathedral are a stone's throw away," said the Prime Minister, and we live in peace here.
It is well known to all of you that there are serious political conflicts between the Commission of the European Union and Hungary, I also have disputes with the President, but now von der Leyen is our guest, he came to our house, and the guest received a polite welcome, respect, no arguments nor was he among us at the meeting. We will fight our battles in Brussels. We were in complete agreement on the main topic here, competitiveness
- revealed Viktor Orbán, adding: the Hungarian presidency focuses its efforts on competitiveness and wants to create a Budapest declaration, which was achieved, for which he thanked, it took the work of many people to be able to accept a joint document, which is the following focuses on competitiveness for years.
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In the last two decades, the growth of the EU has been consistently slower than that of China and the United States, productivity is growing more slowly, the EU's share of world trade has decreased, EU companies pay three times higher electricity prices than in America, and four times the price for natural gas.
The Budapest Declaration says immediate action is needed
Viktor Orbán underlined some of the points of the declaration:
• Simplification revolution, administrative burdens are reduced. By the end of the first semester of 2025, the number of reporting obligations will be drastically reduced.
• Measures to reduce high energy prices.
• Real industrial policy is formulated.
• It was confirmed that by 2030, 3 percent of European GDP will be spent on research and development.
• The capital market union is implemented.
• A European defense industrial base will be created.
• In the next five years, competitiveness will be at the center, a competitiveness test must be prepared for each new legislative proposal, so that each new legislation can be seen to see what effect it has on competitiveness.
• The issue of competitiveness is regularly returned to at Council meetings.
Viktor Orbán is optimistic at the end of the meeting, no one wants to manage the decline, everyone wants to make Europe great again, if the Americans have already decided to make America great.
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