THE HAGUE - The greatest threat facing Europe is economic decline and the continent's loss of competitiveness, not military or security risks, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Wednesday.

"The biggest threat to Europe is losing competitiveness ... The real threat is not security-wise. It's economic and losing our competitiveness in global trade," Orban said when speaking to reporters here ahead of the meeting of leaders of NATO member states.

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When asked about Russia, Orban downplayed the threat posed by Moscow, stressing that NATO is "far stronger" and "has no business in Ukraine."

"Ukraine is not a member of NATO, and neither is Russia," he said. "My job is to keep it that way."

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NATO's annual summit opened here Tuesday under tight security, with leaders of member states expected to approve a new defense spending target of 5 percent of GDP.