(LifeSiteNews) — During a press conference with Hungarian President Viktor Orbán, Vice President JD Vance urged Hungarians to resist strong-arm tactics from the European Union’s powerful bureaucracy, headquartered in Brussels, that threatens the nation’s sovereignty. 

“There have been too few people to stand up for western civilization,” Vance said. 

“The bureaucrats in Brussels have tried to destroy the economy of Hungary. They have tried to make Hungary less energy independent. They have tried to drive up costs for Hungarian consumers, and they’ve done it all because they hate this guy (Viktor Orban),” the Vice President said.  

“Why are bureaucrats in Brussels telling social media companies what information they’re giving to Hungarian voters?” he asked. “Hungarians are sovereign in their own country and they should be able to look at whatever information they would like to … without somebody in a faraway capital treating them like children.”

“Sovereignty, Democracy are fundamentally about the people choosing, and part of the reason why the President of the United States sent me here is because we think the amount of interference that’s come from the bureaucracy in Brussels has been truly disgraceful,” he explained. “I won’t tell the people of Hungary how to vote. I would encourage the bureaucrats in Brussels to do the exact same thing.”