On Monday 15 July, 63 MEPs called on the Presidents of the European Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament to do everything in their power to suspend Hungary’s voting rights in the Council, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union.
“The Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council has barely begun and the Prime Minister ,Viktor Orbán, has already caused considerable damage by exploiting and abusing the role of the Council Presidency”, they wrote in a letter.
In their view, the Prime Minister has “intentionally distorted his powers. In his so-called ‘peace mission’, Mr. Orbán deliberately gave the impression that he was acting on behalf of the whole of the EU when in reality he has no authority to represent the EU or the other Member States”, they denounced, adding that this amounted to usurping the powers and prerogatives of the Member States in foreign policy.
As a result of these “abuses of power”, MEPs called on the three presidents to take “decisive action as soon as possible” to limit further damage.
Furthermore, on Wednesday 17 July, the European Parliament, in a resolution on Ukraine, is expected to condemn Mr Orbán’s visit to Russia, which “constitutes a flagrant violation of the European Union Treaties and the Common Foreign Policy, including the principle of sincere cooperation”. It adds that the Hungarian Prime Minister could not claim to represent the EU when he violated the EU’s common positions. In their view, this violation should have consequences for Hungary.
To see the letter from the MEPs : https://aeur.eu/f/d20 and the draft resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/d1z (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)