Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sent letters of apology on Thursday 14 March to the thirteen member parties of the European People's Party (EPP) that initiated the expulsion or suspension of his Fidesz Party. However, the fate of the Hungarian party within the Christian Democratic family will be decided on 20 March at the assembly of the European party.
In his letters, Mr Orbán apologises in particular for having called some of these groups "useful idiots" serving the political interests of the EPP opponents.
On Wednesday evening, the Orbán case was discussed in Strasbourg within the European Parliament's EPP Group. EPP Party President Joseph Daul of France was present and promised that a vote would take place on Wednesday 20 March, on this request for suspension or expulsion, a source reported.
The EPP President has reportedly even put his resignation on the line if nothing is decided on 20 March, although it is not clear at this stage whether this motion will involve an exclusion or a suspension.
During this discussion, criticism was levelled at the Hungarian leader, with many members of the EPP group considering that Mr Orbán had gone too far. This position has even won over some elected officials who opposed in September 2018 the initiation of the so-called 'Article 7' procedure of the Treaty on respect for the rule of law in Hungary, added this participant (see EUROPE 12094/14).
Several EPP member parties will decide their position in the coming days and set a line for their delegates. But for some observers, these letters of apology may not be enough, as Viktor Orbán is also eagerly awaited on Budapest's pressure on the Central European University, which has been forced to move its curricula to Vienna because of its links with financier George Soros. This case has been referred to the EU Court of Justice (see EUROPE 11921/24).
But within the EPP Group in Parliament, there is also talk of the consequences that an eviction of the Hungarian Fidesz party from the Christian Democratic family would have on the current Hungarian EPP delegation, just 2 months before the European elections. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)