The fate of the Fidesz Party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán within the European People's Party (EPP) family will be decided at the “end of January”. This was stated by the new EPP President, Poland’s Donald Tusk, on Thursday 21 November in Zagreb, at a press conference on the margins of the EPP annual congress.
Donald Tusk who was elected on Wednesday 20 November by 491 votes to 37 (see EUROPE 12373/2) insisted in his first speech on respect for the Rule of law and civil liberties, values which, in his opinion, are not incompatible with providing security for Europeans. Mr Tusk will therefore have to manage the Fidesz party file, currently suspended by the EPP, whereas he himself comes from the Civic Platform, the PiS' political opponent in power in Poland and subject to an Article 7 procedure on respect for the Rule of law.
The day before, the former EPP President, Joseph Daul, had said that the report of the Committee of Wise Men on the Hungarian case would not be ready until early 2020. The Pole therefore said he was waiting for this report by the end of 2019 for a decision a month later. In early January, he will begin “intensive consultations” with the other EPP member parties to finalize a decision.
The question of the definitive exclusion of the Fidesz party from the Christian Democratic family remains extremely sensitive, even if the subject seemed to be relegated in the wake of the European elections. However, the suspension of the Fidesz decided in March is effective, as Viktor Orbán is not present in Zagreb (see EUROPE 12218/8).
Invited because they were not suspended, the 13 Fidesz MEPs also self-imposed this suspension and chose not to participate in the congress.
The hypothesis of a definitive ousting of the Hungarian party seemed unrealistic in the eyes of some of the members of the EPP group on Thursday. Some delegations, such as the French Republicans, do not believe it will happen and do not wish it to either.
According to other observers, Donald Tusk's firm speech will not necessarily lead to an expulsion of the Fidesz. But having moved forward on a date and the announcement of a decision, the Pole may have put himself in a difficult spot, said one member, for whom the new EPP president “will have to do something and finally make a decision”.
Some are getting impatient and want to see the 'file' finally closed.
But Thursday, in Zagreb, exclusion did not seem to be the leading hypothesis. The Fidesz could therefore still receive warnings to settle points of conflict such as the Central European University.
Donald Tusk himself may have already ruled out the possibility of exclusion. While he does not share all of Viktor Orbán's ideas, particularly on “illiberal democracy”, they remain “very close friends”, he said at a press conference. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)