LETTER FROM BRUSSELS
The European Parliament in Strasbourg, September 14, 2022. FRIEDRICH FLORIN / AFP
With a very large majority – ie 433 votes in favour, 123 against and 28 abstentions – the European Parliament voted on 15th September in favor of a resolution which defines the Hungarian regime as an “electoral autocracy”, ie a regime in which elections are held , qualified , but which does not respect democratic standards.
From the radical left (GUE) to the conservatives (PPE), to the social democrats (S&D), the greens or the liberals (Renew), MEPs have come together to denounce practices that threaten the independence of the judiciary, encourage corruption and the hinder public liberties. Only the extreme right, including the elected members of the National Assembly, and the nationalist right massively opposed this text.
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“A large majority of MEPs supports this resolution, which is a first in the European Parliament,” said the rapporteur for the text, French Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Greens). This also applies to the EPP, to which Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz belonged for a long time.
But if we analyze the voices that made its adoption possible, we find an island of resistance within the conservative group: the French delegation. Of the eight Les Républicains (LR) MEPs elected in Strasbourg in 2019, four – their President François-Xavier Bellamy, Nadine Morano, Brice Hortefeux and Arnaud Danjean – voted against, while the others – Nathalie Colin-Oesterlé, Geoffroy Didier and Agnès Evren – voted against and Anne Sander – abstained. “Within the EPP, I thought that we were going to lose Italian, Spanish and French law and that there would be some casualties in the east. Eventually, with a few exceptions, even Forza Italia followed, and only the LRs refused to vote for the resolution, analyzes Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield. Bellamy is fascinated by Orban. »
“LR has become radicalized”
“This text criticizes Orban for the content of his political line. Issues related to the rule of law must be dealt with outside of political borders,” said Judge François-Xavier Bellamy, who was the only French MP to meet Judit Varga, Hungary’s justice minister, during his September 7 visit to Brussels.
“Many of the accusations made against Hungary could also be made against other countries. Take the one on judicial independence. How are prosecutors appointed in our beautiful country? ‘, handed Arnaud Danjean. Before adding: “Hungary urgently needs to be brought back to the European positions in the Ukraine conflict. Not to be further divided by repeatedly stigmatizing Budapest.
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