European People’s Party suspends Hungarian PM Orbán’s Fidesz party
Following a vote in the European People’s Party (EPP) Political Assembly, the membership of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor party Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz has been suspended with immediate effect, the EPP said on March 20.
The vote was 190 in favour and three against.
The suspension entails that Fidesz will no longer be present at any party meeting, nor have speaking time, nor voting rights, nor the right to propose candidates for posts.
“EPP is a party of values and each member must abide by the principles that unite us. Today, internal democracy has spoken,” EPP president Joseph Daul said.
“Following the request of 13 members parties, we voted to suspend Fidesz until further notice. This decision was not taken lightly. As the party of Europe’s Founding Fathers and many European successes, EPP is and must remain a beacon of values. All our member parties must lead by example.
“We cannot compromise on democracy, rule of law, freedom of press, academic freedom or minorities rights. And anti-EU rhetoric is unacceptable. The divergences between EPP and Fidesz must cease, ” Daul said.
An Evaluation Committee will be monitoring Fidesz’s implementation of the conditions agreed.
The body will be chaired by Former President of the European Council and Former Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy (Belgium) and composed of Former European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering (Germany) and Former Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel (Austria).
They will present their report to the EPP Presidency in due course, the EPP said.
The BBC said that the final straw for many centre-right parties in Europe was an anti-immigration poster campaign that featured unflattering photos of European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and billionaire philanthropist George Soros.
