Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán tore into European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday, saying President Donald Trump clearly outmatched her in negotiating the new U.S.-EU trade deal announced over the weekend.
Trump unveiled the deal Sunday, which imposes a 15% tariff on most EU imports and includes a pledge by Brussels to purchase $750 billion in American energy and invest another $600 billion into the U.S. economy. During a Monday morning podcast appearance, Orbán called Trump a “heavyweight negotiator” and von der Leyen a “featherweight,” adding it would be difficult for the European leader to spin the deal as a win for the EU.
“It wasn’t a deal that President Donald Trump made with Ursula von der Leyen. It was Donald Trump eating Ursula von der Leyen for breakfast,” Orbán, who leads Hungary’s conservative Fidesz party, said. “The position of the U.S. President is much more confident, and the position of the President of the Commission is always more fragile.”
Orbán also claimed that the new U.S.-EU agreement was worse than the trade deal the U.K. reached with the U.S. in May, which lowered tariffs on most British goods to 10%. Other right-wing European leaders, such as Marine Le Pen of France, have similarly criticized von der Leyen’s handling of the negotiations.
Von der Leyen’s office declined to comment on Orbán’s remarks.
The Hungarian prime minister, who has held office continuously since 2010, has long been a critic of Brussels. Orbán has frequently clashed with the EU over its support for mass immigration and pro-LGBTQ policies, advocating instead for the preservation of traditional family values.
Meanwhile, Orbán has positioned himself as an ally of Trump and his policies.
“Thanks to President Trump’s common-sense diplomacy, peace is gaining ground,” Orbán said following the NATO summit in June, where member states committed to raising defense spending to 5% of GDP. “New conflicts are being contained, old ones are losing momentum. In a world full of chaos, common sense is making a comeback.”
With steep new tariffs set to take effect on Aug. 1, countries around the world are racing to finalize trade deals with Washington. In addition to the EU and the U.K., the U.S. has recently reached agreements with Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
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Author: Melissa ORourke
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