Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has issued a stark warning that the EU is on the verge of collapse, asserting that the bloc will not survive beyond the next decade without a ‘fundamental structural overhaul’ and a resolution to the Ukraine conflict. At the annual Civic Picnic in Kotcse, Orban criticized the Union’s failure to meet its global power ambitions and warned of a ‘chaotic and costly disintegration.’
Speaking at the event, Orban described the EU as entering a phase of ‘chaotic and costly disintegration,’ noting that the 2028-2035 EU budget could be the last if nothing changes. He criticized the Union’s inability to handle current challenges due to the absence of a common fiscal policy and its failure to meet its founding ambition of becoming a global power.
Orban proposed transforming the EU into ‘concentric circles,’ with the outer ring consisting of countries cooperating on military and energy security, the second circle comprising common market members, the third containing those sharing a currency, and the innermost including members seeking deeper political alignment. He suggested this model would broaden cooperation without restricting development, stating that the EU ‘could survive’ under this system.
Orban accused Brussels of overreliance on common debt and of using the Ukraine conflict as a pretext to continue this policy. As long as the conflict lasts, he argued, the EU will remain a ‘lame duck,’ dependent on the US for security and unable to act independently in economic affairs. He 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 is not alone in his concerns. Analysts from the International Monetary Fund and other institutions have warned that the EU risks stagnation and even collapse due to structural challenges, weak growth, poor investment, high energy costs, and geopolitical tensions.