Viktor Orban has followed through on his threats.
On Wednesday morning, Fidesz, his party, slammed the door of the EPP group in the European Parliament in which it had sat since 2004. "
I inform you that Fidesz MEPs are resigning from their membership of the EPP,
" wrote the Hungarian Prime Minister in a letter. letter addressed to the leader of the MEPs of the European right, Manfred Weber, adding that the measure took effect "
immediately
".
In this same letter, he considers that the method of the parliamentary group is "
undemocratic, unjust and unacceptable
".
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The Hungarian Prime Minister had made known on Sunday his opposition to the overhaul of the group's statutes, convinced that it would have resulted within a few weeks in the suspension of Fidesz MEPs.
The threats from Budapest did not change the case.
And this time there was no orchestrated rescue attempt from Berlin.
EPP MEPs voted on Wednesday morning in favor of the rule change which now allows not only one MEP, as was the case in the previous statutes, to be suspended, but all party members.
This modification was also approved by an overwhelming majority: 148 voted for, 28 against, 4 abstained.
According to these new rules, the suspension of a party is now possible if 15% of EPP MEPs belonging to at least 4 delegations so request and if this request then receives the votes - by secret ballot - of two-thirds of the members. of the group.
To hear a member of the EPP, the idea is "to
have a certain consistency
" between the statutes of the group and those of the party from which Fidesz has been suspended since March 2019. In fact, despite the decision taken two years ago years by the party and which deprives Orban of his participation in the EPP summits, the elected Fidesz have retained all the prerogatives linked to their status.
A heavyweight in the group delivers his version of how things turned out: “
Weber wanted to buy time until the party decided to exclude Fidesz, but it was too far, and the pressure within in the group rose sharply when Hungarian MEP Tamas Deutsch compared Manfred Weber to the Gestapo in December.
The soft way to go was to modify the regulations to calm the most virulent MEPs
”against Fidesz.
Tumultuous relationship
The case escalated over the weekend when the Hungarian prime minister announced his intention to leave the group if the rule change was passed.
"
Orban made support impossible by putting an ultimatum where there was no need,"
continues this EPP MEP.
A compromise had been found on the changes made to the regulations.
If the group had again postponed or watered down the decision, then the thirteen parties, which have been demanding for months the exclusion of Fidesz, and not its suspension, would have left the EPP. "
Shortly after the vote, Manfred Weber with drawn lines made this bitter and sour statement: “
I have tried many times in recent years, always arguing and fighting for a common approach.
Unfortunately, that was no longer possible and the group made it clear today that they want to move forward
. ”
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This is the umpteenth episode in the tumultuous relationship that the European right maintains with Viktor Orban's Fidesz.
Many seem to believe that this is one of the last twists and turns, convinced that the Hungarian Prime Minister is now ready to cut the link with the EPP - of which Fidesz is still a member - and that he has exhausted Berlin's patience, taking in hostage, in the autumn, the EU budget and the European recovery plan, to oppose conditionality linked to the rule of law.
Which group to join?
For now, the European right has lost 12 Fidesz MEPs on Wednesday, but, with 175 members, it remains the largest group in the European Parliament.
Viktor Orban could, on the other hand, emerge weakened from his coup, depriving himself of valuable European allies, Germany in the lead.
The question now is to know which parliamentary group will join the 12 Fidesz MEPs, when their party has effectively cut the cord with the EPP.
“
They have every interest in joining the European conservatives and reformists where the Poles of the PiS sit.
This would allow them to create a disturbing minority in Parliament and a disturbing minority in the European Council,
”confided a member of the parliamentary group.
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Either way, this group could perhaps see its membership increase in the long term. Negotiations are going well between the Lega and some members of the EPP, since Matteo Salvini's party joined the Draghi government and began to change its positions on Europe. Former Italian Council President Silvio Berlusconi, as well as former European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, are maneuvering behind the scenes to get his MEPs to leave the Identity and Democracy (ID) group, where the elected RNs sit. "
The arrival of Mario Draghi is in the process of detaching Marine Le Pen's greatest European ally and putting him on the path of the EPP,"
said former Italian Council President Enrico Letta. If these attempts were successful, the Lega would have to show its paws. Because the new regulation of the EPP group is also much more explicit and precise than it was on the values that its members must share.