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EPP Group Leader Weber: "Enough is Enough"
Photo: Philipp von Ditfurth / dpa
Manfred Weber, head of the European People's Party in the EU Parliament, sharply criticized his group colleague Tamás Deutsch in an internal meeting.
According to several participants, Weber said that it was "simply unacceptable" that the Hungarian had brought him close to the Gestapo.
"Enough is enough."
CSU man Weber had defended the planned rule of law mechanism in the EU budget, which could result in the Hungarian government being withdrawn from EU funds because of its autocratic behavior.
Those who obey the law and the law have nothing to fear, said Weber.
Deutsch had compared this to slogans of the Nazis and the former Hungarian secret police Avo.
Weber had so far been silent about the process, but behind closed doors he was now speaking plain text.
The rule of law is "fundamental to the thinking of our political family," said Weber.
German Nazi comparison triggered massive tensions within the parliamentary group.
At the meeting on Wednesday, Deutsch stated that his interview had been interpreted "totally wrongly", but that he had apologized to Weber.
"I consider this case closed," said Deutsch.
But there can be no question of that.
In the meantime, more than 40 EPP MPs have signed a letter to Weber demanding that Deutsch be excluded from the parliamentary group.
The Austrian Othmar Karas, the initiator of the action, expects further encouragement: he speaks for the "still silent majority" in the parliamentary group.
Weber was initially able to prevent an immediate vote.
He suggested waiting for the results of the EU summit, where an agreement was reached on Thursday in the dispute over the rule of law mechanism with Hungary and Poland.
In the coming week, however, the parliamentary group should deal "in detail" with the expulsion of German, said Weber.
However, German did little to defuse tensions.
According to participants, he tackled his critic Karas harshly at the meeting.
The Austrian has been attacking Fidesz politicians for years and has described the party as fascist.
Karas, in turn, was "disappointed" by Deutsch's words.
It is not about personal sensitivities, "but about fundamentals".
In fact, German actually renewed his accusations by accusing the EPP of punishing him for his opinion.
Most recently, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also intervened in the dispute and suggested a special status for the Fidesz delegation within the EPP group.
Fidesz's membership in the EPP as a whole has already been suspended due to the continuing violations of the rule of law by the Hungarian government.
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