(ANSA) - BUDAPEST, JULY 29 - "The illiberal regime, in Hungary, is accomplished. Our goal, in the coming 15 years, is to fight against liberalism in Europe", Hungary's populist national prime minister Viktor Orban, on his way back home from Romania, where he participated in a cultural event organized by the Hungarian minority. This was the same event, during which, in 2014, Orban said for the first time that he wanted to build "an illiberal regime". According to Orban, whereas in Europe democracies "are trying to build a universal liberal empire" and tend to "demolish borders and endanger identities", his regime in Hungary protects all the citizens and opposes liberal universalism. "The relationship between the individual and the national community was redetermined in Hungary, the sovereign nation is more important than individual freedom," he said. Orban has rejected the EU initiative to examine the rule of law in Hungary according to the procedure of Article 7 of the Treaty. "We will have to struggle a lot in the future in this field," he warned.

Regarding the membership of Fidesz to the European People's Party (EPP), currently suspended, Orban said: "Let's see how it plays out. We still want to stay in the EPP." (ANSA).