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Orban said migration and LGBTQ rights, two issues which have
caused conflict with the European Union, would dominate the
agenda as his right-wing Fidesz party prepares for its first
contested election after three landlslides since 2010.
The row over democratic standards has led to a freeze in EU
recovery funding to Hungary, complicating Orban's path to
re-election because the economy relies heavily on the funds to
finance investment and boost growth.
The 58-year-old premier faces a united opposition as inflation
hits at a 14-year-high, the economy is headed for a slowdown,
and the budget deficit has surged to record levels due to high
pre-election spending.
Earlier this month, Hungary's Constitutional Court avoided
ruling on the primacy of European Union law in deciding on a
disputed government move against immigration, staving off a
deeper crisis after a similar Polish challenge sent shock waves
through Europe.
The court had considered a challenge by Orban's government to an
EU court finding that Budapest broke EU laws by deporting
refugees over the border into Serbia.
The court said Budapest had the right to apply its own measures
in areas where the EU has yet to take adequate steps for common
implementation of EU rules as well as to safeguard its national
identity, which Orban took as vindication of his policies.
"The government decided that we will not do anything to change
the system of border protection," Orban told a news conference.
"We will maintain the existing regime, even if the European
court ordered us to change it.
"We will not change it and will not let anyone in."
Orban, whose anti-immigration stance boosted support for Fidesz
after the 2015 migrant crisis, also said he would pursue another
contested issue, a referendum on LGBTQ rights in the run-up to
the election.
Orban casts himself as the defender of traditional Hungarian
values against "LGBT ideology".
In the referendum, Hungarians will be asked whether they support
the holding of sexual orientation workshops in schools without
parental consent, and whether they believe gender reassignment
procedures should be "promoted" among children.
Orban also told the news conference that Hungary had ordered 9.5
million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, days after detecting its
first cases of Omicron.
The EU commission has already approved Hungary joining the EU
procurement for Pfizer vaccines.
(Reporting by Gergely Szakacs and Krisztina Than; editing by
Jason Neely and Giles Elgood)
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