The European Union will sign an association agreement with Ukraine, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told reporters after a two-day summit of the EU heads of state and government in Brussels on Friday.

Hungary shared the majority position concerning the Eastern Partnership summit to take place in Vilnius on November 28-29 and the EU-Ukraine association agreement, which also includes a comprehensive free trade agreement. "Although there are still some open issues, it has essentially been decided that we will sign the association agreement with Ukraine," the Prime Minister said.

The Hungarian Prime Minister stated that the digital package was the most important topic of the summit, adding that in the early 1990s Europe was a leader in digitalisation, but has since been overtaken by the United States, with China also in strong competition.

The participants agreed at the summit that the next great question regarding competition will be digitalisation and member states must implement the necessary legal regulations in order to create a unified European digital area. However Prime Minister Orbán stated that Hungary would only agree to coordination, and would not be willing to hand over the distribution and operation of radio frequencies. Similarly, both Hungary and the United Kingdom consider their protection of information stronger than any that could be created by the EU, he added.

Central European countries could enforce their position during a discussion of refugee affairs, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán emphasised. “Everyone is talking about Lampedusa and the tragedies at sea, but pressure has increased on land as well,” he said, adding that Hungary was particularly hit by this trend. “Hungary should grant safe haven to those whose life is in danger or ask for political asylum but should reject the others,” he said. The Prime Minister underlined the importance of humaneness but said that Hungary “does not want to become a country flooded by refugees.”

Talking about the NSA’s information gathering, Prime Minister Orbán stated that for the time being the Germans and French would be conducting proceedings on behalf of the EU. He emphasised however, that one does not discuss matters crucial to the country on a mobile phone, and he himself prefers to arrange a meeting with anyone he would like to discuss such issues with. The Hungarian Prime Minister underlined that it is unacceptable to live in such uncertainty when we are allies.

Commenting on the MOL case, he stated that he had not discussed the topic with his Croatian counterpart, since it is an economic and legal issue and not a political one.

(Prime Minister's Office)