When Hungary implemented its new constitution five years ago, the European Union made its displeasure felt. It did not go so far as to impose sanctions against Hungary — as it did briefly in 2000 against Austria after Jörg Haider formed a coalition government — but it put pressure on the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to walk it back, which Mr. Orbán and his party Fidesz successfully resisted.

There wasn’t really anything specifically wrong with the new constitution — it was just that it contained too much nationalism, too much Christianity, and above all, too much talk about sovereignty. The EU, as we all know, is not terribly fond of national sovereignty.

Last week Hungary held a ceremonial observance of the fifth anniversary of the promulgation of the Fundamental Law, i.e. the new constitution. The video below shows Prime Minister Orbán’s speech for the occasion before the Hungarian Parliament.

Many thanks to Dzsihádfigyelo for the translation and timing, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Transcript:

00:11 I would like to draw your attention to the gripping contrast

00:16 that strains the European Union today:

00:19 while the EU has no solutions for several grave and gigantic issues,

00:26 — let alone any proposals that seem workable —

00:29 (financial crisis, economic crisis, immigration crisis, and terror crisis — just to mention a few)

00:37 at the same time Hungary, and the rest of Central European countries, since 2010

00:42 have kept inventing novel things.

00:46 Central Europe is anxious to take action, and is full of energy.

00:51 Ladies and Gentlemen,

00:55 perhaps it is fair to talk about it in a Central European perspective

01:01 since the economic growth rate of Central Europe is well above that of Western Europe’s,

01:09 and here national cultures revive and flourish — the best example is

01:13 the great Hungarian Book Fair

01:16 where the representatives of Slovakian literature exhibited some seventy volume-labels

01:23 proving that the spiritual renaissance we experience,

01:27 — since this book fair saw the most visitors of its history —

01:31 this revival is not only a Hungarian phenomenon, but Central European as well.

01:36 What makes the difference?

01:39 Why is it that Western Europe has no solutions, while here we see more and more projects?

01:45 I think the answer for this difference can be found in the fact that Hungary has a modern constitution

01:51 while the EU has no such thing — and maybe it cannot even have one because of its structure.

01:57 Therefore the Hungarians, unlike Europe,

02:02 are able to define where they come from, where they are and where they are heading.

02:09 By contrast, Europe denies where it came from

02:14 and is reluctant to admit where it is heading;

02:17 and its time horizon is so short that it is not even searching for the answer to the question:

02:23 ‘Where will its present politics lead?’

02:26 Ladies and Gentlemen, a community with a Constitution

02:30 is like the wise man of the Gospel, who did not build his house on quicksand, but on a rock.

02:38 Our Constitution states, I quote, “We are proud that our king Saint Stephen built the Hungarian State

02:48 on solid ground and made our country a part of Christian Europe”.

02:53 I also want to quote here Lajos Kossuth, who once said in a dispute about freedom:

03:00 “It is not just freedom what we want, we want to be free Hungarians.”

03:05 Ladies and Gentlemen, This discord between the Central Europe of great vitality, vim and ability,

03:14 and the rest of Europe,

03:17 — and which has shown itself during the discussions of amending the Constitution —

03:23 is surprising. Because if we look at the facts and numbers only,

03:29 this should not be this way, since the population of the EU is larger than that of the USA and Russia together;

03:38 we still have the largest market in the world,

03:42 we still have 1 percent share of world trade,

03:46 27 of the 100 best universities of the world are located here,

03:50 and the 7+% contribution of our creative industries to the total European GDP is outstanding.

04:00 This means that according to the facts and numbers, the EU should be the leading power the world.

04:08 But instead of leading, it only has energy for self-reproach,

04:14 which is clearly shown in the attacks against Hungary and Poland

04:21 — which (attacks) are often constitutional —

04:25 in Poland these issues surfaced from the discussions about the Constitutional Court,

04:29 and in Hungary about the Constitution itself.

04:34 We should probably state the fact — and it will also give a task to Hungarian public life —

04:41 that the Founding Treaty of the EU clearly declares

04:44 that the EU is made up of its member states.

04:47 And that the European institutions must serve the cooperation of the member states.

04:53 Today in practice it is the other way around.

04:56 One has the impression, that the EU is made up of its institutions,

05:00 and the Member States are being required to assist these.

05:05 I think this is the answer to the question,

05:08 why a potentially world-leader population, market and creative power

05:14 is not able to utilize its potential,

05:18 and why it uses its power against its own member states, instead of fighting the struggles for the future.

05:26 I just want to state,

05:30 that Europe still has the aptitude

05:34 that may help it regain its time-honored light.

05:38 Ladies and Gentlemen, any debate on the Constitution necessarily raises the issue

05:43 of the connection between political reality and philosophical tenets.

05:48 Constitutional order is necessarily built on an existing community with a history;

05:53 it is built on a community of real people of flesh and blood,

05:58 one that is aware of its identity.

06:01 It is never built on abstract theories.

06:04 Abstract theories may help define the common principles and interests,

06:11 but they must not supersede them.

06:14 If one still tries to do so, than the issue mentioned by President Darák about legal compliance arises.

06:23 A European thinker once said that philosophical considerations are too sophisticated and abstract

06:30 To play a role in everyday life or extinguish emotions,

06:35 because the air above the clouds is too fine and thin to breathe in.

06:41 It goes to show that this is the way politicians get close to the Constitutional process.

06:46 Since — completing the work of the Constitutional Court Judges and

06:51 professors of law who confidently handle abstract issues —

06:55 — they are the ones who strive to represent the reality of that community of flesh and blood,

07:01 and they should remind the creators to consider that their creation must

07:07 ultimately serve the principles and interests of this community of flesh and blood.

07:13 Ladies and Gentlemen, one of such foundations to consider

07:18 for all in the Constitutional process is the security of the community, which comes before everything else.

07:24 So this is what I will finally talk about.

07:27 The Fundamental Law puts it clearly and concisely:

07:31 “Hungary shall PROTECT its citizens.”

07:35 Article G, second paragraph. This means that according to the Basic Law it is our duty

07:41 to protect the citizens of Hungary.

07:44 But today this task has two levels:

07:48 partly inside our borders — because there we have to perform

07:53 our duty prescribed by the Constitution.

07:57 This is what the initiated amendment of the Constitution is about:

08:06 the amendment of the Special Legal Orders.

08:10 But there is another stage too. Since we belong to the EU —

08:17 — moreover, we belong to the inner club of Schengen — it is obvious that

08:23 the lack of security of the EU citizens will sooner or later bring trouble to Hungarians, too.

08:31 Therefore when we need to protect the security of the Hungarians,

08:35 the Hungarian government in power must act to the best of its abilities

08:41 to avert the dangers not only within the territory of the country,

08:44 but it must make efforts as well to determine the state of affairs in Europe,

08:50 — where the dangers to Hungarian citizens come from.

08:56 Therefore when we submitted a proposal of a ten-point action plan titled “Schengen 2.0” to Europe,

09:03 with it, the Hungarian government fulfilled its constitutional obligation

09:07 to protect the security of the Hungarian citizens.

09:12 So we must make it clear

09:15 that the outer borders must be protected.

09:18 And every country belonging to the Schengen zone must do it.

09:23 And if a country cannot protect its borders, this task must be taken over from them.

09:29 In the case where a country will not transfer the task — which is their sovereign right —

09:32 than this country must be excluded from the Schengen Zone,

09:37 and deprived of its Schengen membership.

09:40 Ladies and Gentlemen, the same way it is our constitutional duty to make it clear that

09:45 the procedures that the people who want to enter must undergo, must take place

09:51 outside the EU, in closed and guarded areas.

09:55 This is the precondition of the security of Hungarian people.

09:58 Likewise, we are entitled to expect the Hungarian government,

10:03 on the basis of the Constitution, to enforce that illegal migrants

10:08 be sent back without delay to their safe countries of origin, or safe transit countries.

10:15 It is the government’s constitutional obligation as well to make it clear

10:21 that favourable development and visa policy can be implemented only for

10:26 Countries that keep the regulations which are indispensable

10:31 for the security of our citizens.

10:36 It means that the development and visa agreements with countries

10:42 outside Europe must not be unconditional — they must be tied to conditions.

10:47 Finally, we must make clear that the responses to demographic and labour market challenges

10:54 must be the sovereign decisions of Member States.

10:58 It is the greatest challenge to the Hungarian constitutional system.

11:02 If you read the published proposals of the European Commission,

11:06 you will find the sentences that state

11:11 that the demographic and economic problems of Europe

11:16 can be handled by immigration.

11:19 And therefore immigration “must be made a common European policy.”

11:24 That is, they intend to solve a European problem by

11:27 expropriating and encroaching upon the immigration policy that so far has been a national authority.

11:38 This takes us back to the point where Constitutional Judge Sulyok led us:

11:44 the question will come up whether it is a part of the member states’ constitutional

11:49 to decide if they want to solve their demographic and economic challenges

11:55 by their own European (human) resources, or import resources into Europe.

12:04 The question is not ‘which one of the standpoints is right.’

12:07 The question is whether the member states are allowed to choose.

12:11 Then history will decide if these choices were reasonable and successful or they were failed choices.

12:17 Again, the question is not “which one is the good demographic and economic policy”,

12:23 but it is about our right to decide whether we use solely national and European resources to solve this bane.

12:35 Ladies and Gentlemen, it is obvious that in order to meet the constitutional obligation

12:42 of protecting the citizens of Hungary

12:45 we must know who are those who want to come to our country and why.

12:51 In other words, we have the right to choose whom we want and don’t want to live with.

12:58 This is not in conflict with the universal principles of refugee protection

13:03 because Article XIV, paragraph 3 of the Constitution states:

13:09 “Hungary shall, upon request, grant asylum to non-Hungarian citizens being

13:13 persecuted or having a well-founded fear of persecution

13:17 in their native country or in the country of their usual residence

13:22 for reasons of race, nationality, membership of a particular social group, religious or political belief,

13:31 if they do not receive protection from their country of origin or from any other country.”

13:38 Ladies and Gentlemen, it follows that — while we acknowledge the universal principles

13:45 of refugee protection — we can make it clear:

13:48 there is no place for terrorists among us, and we have the right to handle the

13:54 demographic crisis our own way.

13:57 Especially if we take in consideration the fact that the National Avowal states:

14:03 “We commit to promoting and safeguarding our heritage, our unique language,

14:07 Hungarian culture, the languages and cultures of nationalities living in Hungary,

14:13 along with all man-made and natural assets of the Carpathian Basin.

14:17 We bear responsibility for our descendants; therefore we shall protect

14:22 the living conditions of future generations by making prudent use

14:26 of our material, intellectual and natural resources.

14:29 We believe that our national culture is a rich contribution to the diversity of European unity.”

14:35 To translate it into the language of political action,

14:39 I sum it up like this:

14:42 The Hungarian government cannot support any mass migration movements

14:49 which could lead to results that conflict with the quoted part of the Fundamental Law.

14:54 Neither the legislature nor the government of the day may pursue such a policy within constitutional boundaries.

15:00 To put it clearly and unequivocally,

15:04 Islamisation is banned by the constitution in Hungary.

15:09 Ladies and Gentlemen, finally, let me thank those

15:14 who created this admirable national edifice with a persistent effort five years ago.

15:21 And I especially want to thank those Hungarians who contributed to it during

15:25 the National Consultation about the Constitution,

15:29 taking responsibility for the Constitution.