BUDAPEST, March 11 European countries should highlight money for the development of the army and weapons, because the United States will not pay their security bills instead of the Europeans, said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
“»We must take into account that a new time has come for armament in Europe. The Americans will not pay the security bills instead of us. All European countries need to make their contribution, including financially. We must have our own army, our own equipment and be ready to defend the homeland or contribute to the overall military potential in the alliance,” Orban said in an interview with M1 TV.
He recalled the words of former US President Donald Trump, who back in 2016 said that he “does not want to finance the security of Europe instead of the Europeans,” and they must either finance the army themselves and purchase equipment, or pay “the price for security for Americans.»
«All European countries must have their own army and equipment, and we must be able to defend our own country or contribute to the overall military capabilities in the alliance,» Orban said.
According to him, “this is a big burden” and Hungary itself is having a hard time getting money to modernize the army, however, with the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, it became clear that “the time has passed” when small amounts could be allocated from the budget for defense .
Earlier, Orban said that Budapest now needs to increase the country's military capabilities. According to him, only a strong national army can guarantee the country's security and that Hungary will seriously engage in strengthening the national army in the next decade, since European countries cannot rely only on the United States in the field of defense.