Fidesz MEPs Leave EPP Group Following New Ruling on Party Suspensions
After the European People’s Party passed its vote allowing for the suspension of its member parties, Viktor Orbán sent a letter to EPP Group President Manfred Weber declaring the immediate resignation of all Fidesz representatives from the party’s faction in the European Parliament.
The new ruling, passed 148 to 28, allows for the removal of EPP member groups’ privileges. Only 15 percent of the faction is required to call for a vote on the suspension or restriction of a member or a group of members, which can be passed through a 2/3 majority vote in the party.
Orbán Threatens to Leave EPP if Change in Rules Goes Through
The EPP is about to change its rules of procedure allowing the party family to penalize an entire member party, rather than just a single MEP. The new rules would enable the party family to exclude the whole Fidesz faction by a simple majority. In reaction, Fidesz MEP László Trócsányi has already threatened to turn to EU’s Court of Justice. Also, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán issued an ultimatum to pull his party from the EPP should the new rules be put to vote.
EPP Seemingly Preparing to Expel Fidesz
The European People’s Party is trying to create the legal means to expel Fidesz, and has set up a “task force” for the purpose, according to EU news outlet EUrologus, in reference to an article by Politico. The decision comes only days after EPP group leader Manfred Weber’s comment promising the fate of Fidesz to be a top priority for the European party. In reaction, the new leader of the Fidesz EP group called it shocking that they had to find out from the press about the internal debates of the presidency, also adding that it is too early to talk about the expulsion of Fidesz. The party has been suspended in the EPP for almost two years.
In the response entitled “Samizdat No.5”, the prime minister wrote:
“To the German public, Manfred Weber has labeled Hungary’s policies as being on the wrong track. These are the policies that have been governing Hungary for the last ten years. Before the COVID crisis hit, these policies have succeeded in cutting unemployment from 12 percent to below 4 percent and decreasing state debt from 84 percent to less than 66 percent. Meanwhile, we have more than doubled the minimum wage and nearly doubled the average wage. At the same time, the financial assets of households have grown threefold. Since 2014, Hungary’s GDP has grown 2-3 percent above the EU average. Hungary has spent the most in relative terms on family support, culture and sport. We guarantee places in creche and nursery schools and provide free, school meals and textbooks for Hungarian children.
The gradual, “relentless” implementation of the “Soros plan” is continuing with the cooperation of the European and Hungarian left wing, Tamás Deutsch, who heads the delegation of governing Fidesz in the European Parliament, said at a press conference in Budapest on Saturday.
Deutsch said that according to two EP resolutions on migration, immigration, including illegal immigration, is a fundamental human right, and immigrants arriving in the European Union must be distributed among member states.
Additionally, he said, the resolutions require compliance with rules that “prohibit deportation, in practice”, even in cases in which the authorities of a member state have rejected an application for asylum.