While Slovakia has a strategic role and Poland serves as a stabilising force within the V4 cooperation, Hungary s fundamental economic interest is to be able to connect the Hungarian and Polish economies as broadly as possible, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in an interview with Hungarian public service radio.

At a meeting held in Krakow this week, we were once again justified in the strength of the cooperation between Central European states, which spans several centuries of history, the Hungarian prime minister said.

He explained that Slovakia has a strategic role in the V4 Group as it connects north and south. While Slovakia has a strategic role, Poland serves as a stabilising force, he added. A fundamental economic interest of Hungary is to be able to connect the Hungarian and Polish economies directly along as many lines as possible.

The construction of pipelines, electric powerlines and transport routes connecting V4 countries is our fundamental strategic interest, Viktor Orban emphasized, adding that these networks must inevitably be built through Slovakia to Poland, because the north-south connection allows Hungary access to the forty-million-strong Polish market, and the Poles are also interested in access to the Balkans. Thus, in addition to the historic dimension, there is also a very strong economic interest in Central European cooperation, the prime minister recalled.

Regarding procurement of coronavirus vaccines in the  European Union, the prime minister said that back in November, it was apparent that a situation similar to the protective equipment shortage could also develop with regard to the vaccine market. In November, a race for the vaccine was already unfolding, which is why Hungary started negotiations with Russia and China. He emphasized that Hungary currently has the most vaccines in the EU, with three and a half million more people being vaccinated by May than other member states.

He added that this good position can be attributed to the fact that Hungary made its own purchases to secure supplies and did not solely rely on the EU.

We had to take the risk of following a separate road, Viktor Orban said, adding that Hungary was initially criticised for the move, but now the Germans and everybody else are considering the procurement of the Russian vaccine.

According to Hungary s chief medical officer, the testing of the Chinese vaccine is also progressing well, with epidemiologists working hard on it, PM Orban said.

Speaking about reopening, the prime minister underlined that the government is responsible for all the decisions made in this regard but stressed that good decisions can only be taken if as many people as possible are involved in the process and agreement is reached on several points. For this end, the Hungarian government has launched an online National Consultation survey, seeking the opinions of Hungarians as to the steps towards restarting the country.

Responsibility lies with the government, but it is helpful to learn people s opinion on how they want to leave restrictions behind. Making good decisions is in our common interest, he stressed.

The Hungarian opposition is attacking the consultation on reopening because the left comes from a school of power, Viktor Orban remarked. The masters of power know no mercy, they would trample on everyone, even the sick and those at risk, the prime minister said. He pointed out that if the political left thinks that the fight against the epidemic is failing, they will voice that opinion in an attempt to forge political capital for themselves.

Earlier, I saw some chance that the country was more important to them, but now they have refused to cooperate. PM Orban said. They have gone too far, this is about lives, our parents, these are deeper things, these are human dimensions, in which the left cannot position itself properly, he added.