Central European leaders want 'new blueprint' for continent

"We are not receiving or requesting aid," Orban said during a panel discussion with the other regional leaders. "We are a self-conscious community which gives to the European Union at least as much as the EU gives us."

Orban said the blueprint he envisions would return Europe to the technological forefront, include a joint defense force and the goal of a "work-based society — meaning a clause relating to total employment,"

Orban said there was agreement among the Visegrad Group, which also includes Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, that it was in their interests for Europe to be strong while preserving the independence of individual countries instead of creating a "United States of Europe."

"We are pro-European politicians, and our goal is for Europe to be stronger," he said, adding: "The question is, will the European Union have enough of the good-quality leadership needed for us to achieve these aims."

Orban said the migration crisis had made it more difficult to renew Europe. He called U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' proposals about a global agreement on migration "dangerous."

"It's not worth it for the European Union to try to reach a common position at the U.N. because we won't be partners in this," Orban said, adding that Central European nations "want to stick to our tolerant, Christian way of life."

For his part, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he belonged to a group of prime ministers who "do not wish to see Muslim communities being created in our own countries. which have Christian roots."