Hungary PM for 27 solutions to EU problems

(VIENNA) - Europe's current problems require more diverse and creative solutions, said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban Tuesday, whose government has complained of Brussels' encroaching power.

With 27 members, the European Union should have 27 solutions to any problem, Orban said in Vienna at the inauguration of an office tower facade that was decorated by a Hungarian artist.

Hungary's premier avoided any specific political statements at the event however, highlighting good bilateral ties with neighbour Austria instead.

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann, who also attended the event, appealed for greated cooperation within the EU.

"Europe... should not be divided again in the future. We need more of that which binds us, and less of that which keeps us apart."

This included more order, reliability and predictability, he said.

Orban has been at loggerheads with Brussels over a raft of laws that critics see as an attempt by his government and his dominant Fidesz party to concentrate power in their hands.

Hungarian Economy Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy meanwhile last month slammed what he described as a "European empire," calling instead for a "Europe of nations."

"The centralisation of a European empire... the further strengthening of Brussels, is contrary to our interests, because it erodes the independence of the Hungarian state," he complained.