‘Serious lady’: Orban expects von der Leyen to steer EU debates on migration to positive endgame

Hungary’s prime minister expects more meaningful debates on migration in the EU, after he'd had a “successful” meeting in Brussels.

Viktor Orban on Thursday described European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen as a “serious lady” who has “experience and courageous thinking” and “understands what is happening in Central Europe,” AP said.

Orban, who is opposed to immigration, told Hungarian state TV that he believed that von der Leyen would steer debates on migration toward issues where a “positive endgame” could be expected. This includes border protection and the need to send back migrants who came to Europe “by breaking the rules.”

Orban had supported von del Leyen’s candidacy for the EC presidency over Manfred Weber and Franz Timmermans, whom he described as “ideological guerrillas.”