BRUSSELS -
Hungarian leader Viktor Orban has announced the withdrawal of MEPs from his Fidesz party from the European People's Party (EPP)
.
This was announced by the Hungarian prime minister on Facebook.
Before Orban's announcement, the EPP group in the European Parliament had approved the
new regulation with 148 votes in favor, 28 against and 4 abstentions
, as Pedro Lopez de Pablo, the group's head of press office, had announced on Twitter.
The new rules of procedure update the existing rules in force since October 2013. The rules were adopted
by a qualified majority
(representing 84.1% of the votes).
The new rules specify the procedures relating to membership of the group and under what conditions
suspensions and exclusions
can occur
.
In the background was the case of Viktor Orban's Fidesz party in Hungary.
"We will not allow our MEPs to be silenced or limited in their ability to represent our constituents. Tackling the pandemic and saving lives remains our number one priority. Therefore, following the adoption of the new rules of the European Parliament. Ppe Fidesz group has decided to leave the Group ".
Katalin Nov k, Hungarian minister, writes on Twitter.