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STRASBOURG (AP) – The center-right institution in Europe unexpectedly announced its support for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on internal policies that he described as anti-democratic, increasing the chances of censorship. from the country to the European Parliament.
In a parliamentary debate with Mr Orban on the rule of law in Hungary, several senior European lawmakers said he had gradually eroded the nascent democracy of the post-communist country since coming to power eight years ago.
This is the first time Mr Orban has argued with the EU that the influential European People's Party – the largest group in the European Parliament, which includes the party of German Chancellor Angela Merkel – has given up support for Mr Orban .
"We see evidence of clientelism, corruption, conflicts of interest and serious investigations in Hungary," said German legislator Ingeborg Graessle, chairman of the parliamentary committee charged with verifying the way in which EU funds are spent.
Other party leaders have criticized Orban's government policy of restricting media freedom and silencing critics in academia and non-governmental organizations.
In recent years, the Hungarian leader has become a model for parties seeking stricter anti-immigration policies in Europe, having erected a barrier to his country's borders and reduced the rights of migrants. These policies have also been criticized by European leaders, who have accused his government of discriminating against minorities and cruelty towards migrants who they believe are held in detention and sometimes not being fed.
"We can not stand idly by while the Hungarian government is destroying fundamental freedoms," said German Social Democrat Petra Kammerevert.
As the EPP turns its back on Orban, a vote on Wednesday is expected to launch a similar attempt last year to censor Poland on its legal standards. If all EU governments are in agreement in the coming months, the procedure could result in the EU depriving Hungary of its voting rights.
There is probably not enough consensus among European governments for this last step to take place. However, the vote itself adds to the stigma faced by Orban: Even like-minded leaders on European law, sympathizing with his difficult nationalism, say he is worried about the changes he has made to the constitution of his country.
On the eve of the debate, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, whose party is also a member of the EPP, said his legislators would vote against Hungary and that it would be "normal for Mr Orban's party to be expelled from the group. Mr Kurz, like a large part of the EPP, largely shares Mr Orban's anti-immigration position.
The leader of the EPP, Manfred Weber, said Tuesday that he would vote for the sanctions procedure to be triggered. "I did not see the Hungarian Prime Minister's willingness to contribute to a solution," Weber said.
Mr Orban defended his policy and accused the parliament of "communist-type behavior" in trying to dictate how the country is run, which is contrary to what Hungarian voters decided earlier this year when they re-elected his side.
He said the split in the EPP was not about democracy but about migration. According to him, the decision to trigger the sanctions procedure against Hungary was decided in Berlin because Merkel is trying to support a "pro-migratory coalition" with the center-left and French President Emmanuel Macron. t affiliated to a pan-European party.
He has pledged to "fight against flooding by migrants, even though we are a small country and not as powerful as the chancellor".
Mr Orban said he wanted to stay in the EPP and try to bring him back to the "Christian values" embodied by German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who had invited the Hungarian leader's party to the EPP in the late 1990s.
Tuesday's events in the European Parliament came up against Orban's plea that far-right parties would gain power on the continent, inspired by the "illiberal state" that He says build in Hungary. Last year, Orban predicted a "year of rebellion" during which the illiberal parties would take the lead of the biggest European powers, such as France and Germany.
Instead, these parties have mostly won in opposition. The centrist and center-right parties from the Netherlands to Austria turned to Mr Orban's position on immigration. But some have also been uncomfortable with his vision of a radical change towards an illiberal Europe.
"I think he's dreaming awake. That will not happen, "said Eva Balogh, retired professor of Hungarian history at Yale University. "I think they're tired in the European Union year after year after hearing complaints about it."
The European Commission, the executive branch of the Union, represented by former Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans, supported the recommendation to trigger the sanctions procedure. "Unfortunately, the commission shares concerns about fundamental rights, corruption, the treatment of the Roma and the independence of the judiciary," he said.
If approved by two-thirds of the 751 members of the European Parliament on Wednesday, the penalty procedure is little more than political stigmatization. The bloc would have trouble imposing sanctions, such as the suspension of voting rights in Hungary. Mr Orban can count on Poland to oppose any sanctions against his country because he has promised to do the same in return.
Write to Valentina Pop at [email protected]
