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September 14, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 2
European Parliament condemns Hungary for violating EU values
tiated such a procedure against a member state, an unprecedented move that will taint Orban's Fidesz party in Europe.
The report notes concerns related to the functioning of the constitutional and electoral system; the inde- pendence of the judiciary and of other institutions and the rights of judges; corruption and conflicts of interest; privacy and data protection; freedom of expression; academic freedom; freedom of religion; freedom of association; the right to equal treatment; the rights of persons belonging to minorities, includ- ing Roma and Jews, and protection against hateful statements against such minorities; the fundamen- tal rights of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees; and economic and social rights.
European People's Party divided
Orban received a rebuke even from fellow mem- bers of the European People's Party (EPP), whose support he had counted on. Of the 219 MEPs
in the faction, 114 voted to back the document, which showed deep fractures within the conserva- tive EPP, the biggest political group in the EU.
The EPP faction leader, a contender for the post of European Commission president, Manfred Weber voted to trigger Article 7 against Hungary.
“I have always been in favour of building bridges and I want to continue to do so but yesterday I didn't see any readiness from the Hungarian PM to make a move towards his EU partners and ad- dress our concerns,” he said on Twitter.
The vote increases the pressure on leaders of the EPP, the centre-right bloc that makes up the larg- est group in the parliament, to suspend or expel Fidesz from their ranks French President Em- manuel Macron called the censure of Hungary the first step to fight illiberalism. Macron has sought to take the lead in fighting nationalists including Orban and Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, and he has called himself the “main opponent” of the two politicians.
Macron said the vote presented a choice of “values” for the Old Continent’s future.
However, Hungary has other supporters within the EU. Bringing the Article 7 procedure to the final stage would require the unanimous support of
all other EU member states, which analysts say
is unlikely. Poland has already indicated it would veto sanctions against Hungary.
The European Commission initiated similar pro- ceedings against Warsaw in December and three months later the Hungarian parliament adopted a resolution supporting Warsaw in its fight against the bloc, saying the commission does not have “the right to meddle” in the domestic affairs of member states and that it was “unjustified” in initiating Article 7 proceedings.
Hungarian FM defiant and speaks of fraud
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szij- jarto said the approval of the report was "petty revenge by pro-migration politicians". Szijjarto slammed the debate and the vote as a “show tri- al”, arguing that Sargentini had compiled it with- out ever arranging a delegation visit to Hungary.
He contended that the vote was "fraudulent" and insisted that under European agreements absten- tions should have been counted as votes against