Hungarian Prime Minister believes the bloc’s survival hinges on reform and an end to the Ukraine conflict
The EU is on the verge of collapse and may not endure past the next decade without a “fundamental structural overhaul” and disengagement from the Ukraine conflict, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has cautioned.
Speaking on Sunday at the annual Civic Picnic in Kotcse, Orban stated that the EU has failed to achieve its founding aspiration of becoming a global power and is unable to manage current challenges due to the absence of a unified fiscal policy. He characterized the bloc as entering a phase of “chaotic and costly disintegration,” and warned that the 2028-2035 EU budget “could be the last if nothing changes.”
“The EU is currently close to falling apart and has entered a state of fragmentation. And if this continues like this… it will be remembered as the depressing end result of a once noble experiment,” Orban declared.
He put forward a proposal for reorganizing the EU into “concentric circles.”
The outermost ring would encompass countries collaborating on military and energy security. The second circle would comprise members of the common market, the third would include those sharing a currency, while the innermost would contain members seeking deeper political alignment. In Orban’s view, this approach would broaden cooperation without restricting development.
“This means that we are in the same car, we have one gearbox, but we want to move at different paces… If we can switch to this system, the great idea of European cooperation… could survive,” he explained.
Orban criticized Brussels for its overreliance on common debt and for utilizing the Ukraine conflict as a pretext to continue this policy. He asserted that as long as the conflict endures, the EU will remain a “lame duck,” dependent on the US for security and incapable of independent action in economic affairs. Orban also suggested that instead of “lobbying in Washington,” the EU should “go to Moscow” to pursue a security agreement with Russia, followed by an economic deal.
Orban’s concerns are not isolated. Analysts from the International Monetary Fund and other institutions have warned that the EU risks stagnation and even dissolution due to structural challenges, weak growth, insufficient investment, high energy costs, and geopolitical tensions.