S&D MEPs are outraged by the statements made by European Parliament's president, Antonio Tajani, ahead of the vote on launching Article 7 against the Hungarian government in the European Parliament today. In his statement, he said that there is no strong basis to start Article 7 procedures and that he saw it as a political or personal attack on the EPP.

 

 

“It’s extremely inappropriate for European Parliament president Antonio Tajani to intervene in this debate in the way he did, censoring the conclusions of the work of a parliamentary committee on the situation in Hungary. This is a report that has found broad consensus across political groups, including the EPP group in which Mr Tajani sits. It is depressing to see someone who is supposed to be speaking for the whole Parliament defending an authoritarian leader in Hungary rather than standing up for European values. The President should remember he is the guarantor of this institution and not a partisan player.

 

“For far too long, Europe has sat by and watched as Viktor Orbán has eroded the fundamental principles of democracy and the rule of law in Hungary. He has attacked the independent press, universities, scapegoated migrants, and undermined the judiciary. The report we are voting on today is not based just on the Parliament’s work, it lists more than 60 instances where independent international bodies have seen threats to basic democratic principles in Hungary. We urge president Tajani to stop undermining the work of the Parliament and act in the European interest not a partisan one.”