MEP Charlie Weimers says his party has had to consider ‘other options’ in light of Orbán’s stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

MEP Charlie Weimers says his party has had to consider ‘other options’ in light of Orbán’s stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The mere specter of Viktor Orbán is causing ructions on the right wing of the European Parliament.

Leading Sweden Democrats lawmaker Charlie Weimers suggested in written comments to POLITICO’s EU Election Playbook on Friday that he could pull his MEPs out of the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group if Orbán’s Fidesz MEPs join up.

Orbán himself has openly expressed a desire to join the ECR — dominated by Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy and Poland’s Law & Justice party. The former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has also said he’s open to bringing in Fidesz. Meloni and Orbán have developed close ties at the European Council, with the Italian prime minister increasingly seen as a bridge between Budapest and Brussels.

  • AutoTL;DRBEnglish
    4•11 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Orbán himself has openly expressed a desire to join the ECR — dominated by Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy and Poland’s Law & Justice party.

    Meloni and Orbán have developed close ties at the European Council, with the Italian prime minister increasingly seen as a bridge between Budapest and Brussels.

    There are 12 MEPs from Fidesz in the European Parliament, but they are not attached to any political family, having left the center-right EPP group in 2021 in a rule-of-law showdown.

    “In the Nordics the image of Hungary on the right has been seriously damaged by the choices made since the full-scale Russian invasion began, including the unwillingness to ratify Sweden’s NATO application,” Weimers added.

    “It’s possible [that Orbán joins] but definitely his party has to change [its] position on Russia’s Ukraine aggression,” said Latvian MEP Roberts Zīle, a top figure in the ECR, and a Parliament vice-president.

    EU lawmaker Carlo Fidanza said that the next step is for Orbán to green light Sweden’s bid to join NATO.

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