Orban meets with protesting farmers in Brussels

BRUSSELS: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has met with protesting farmers in Brussels ahead of a crunch summit on Ukraine aid, in support of what he called the “voice of the people.”

The latest Brussels summit is taking place against the backdrop of swelling protests by European farmers.

“The voice of the people of the streets is not taken seriously by the leaders. It’s a democratic deficit,” said the nationalist leader in a video posted on his Facebook page.

In the video from Wednesday night, Orban could be seen strolling among tractors blocking the streets of Brussels and shaking hands with a demonstrator.

“There’s a European election in June. We need a new European Parliament. We have to find new leaders who really represent the people,” he added.

On Thursday, protesting farmers clogged roads around an EU summit with about 1,000 tractors.

Earlier this week, Orban reiterated his warning that Ukraine’s integration posed a “serious problem” to Europe even without the war.

He called on the European Commission to “defend European interests against the Ukrainians, not Ukrainian interests against European farmers.”

“Imports of Ukrainian products must be stopped because the conditions and environment for farming are not the same, and European farmers are suffering heavy losses because of EU rules,” Orban told the protesting farmers, according to a statement shared by his Fidesz party.

Last week, the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), a Hungarian governmentbacked think tank, said it was “thrilled to be involved” in organizing a farmer’s protest outside the EU parliament.

The Hungarian leader, who has maintained close ties with Moscow after it invaded Ukraine almost two years ago, has been blocking essential financial support for Kyiv since December.