EPP Group Member Calls EU Parliament's Hungary Debate Ridiculous, Pledges Support To Orban

EPP Group Member Calls EU Parliament's Hungary Debate Ridiculous, Pledges Support to Orban

Commenting on the recent decision of the European Parliament to recommend imposing EU sanctions against Hungary, Nadine Morano, a member of the European Parliament's European People's Party (EPP) group, told Sputnik that the debate in the legislative body was unworthy of the bloc, adding that she stood by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his policies

BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th September, 2018) Commenting on the recent decision of the European Parliament to recommend imposing EU sanctions against Hungary, Nadine Morano, a member of the European Parliament's European People's Party (EPP) group, told Sputnik that the debate in the legislative body was unworthy of the bloc, adding that she stood by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his policies.

On Tuesday, the European Parliament debated the report drafted by Dutch lawmaker Judith Sargentini, a member of the Greens group, calling for Article 7 of the EU treaty to be triggered with regard to Hungary, which could suspend the country's voting rights, over its presumed poor human right record which goes against fundamental EU principles. The debate came amid the growing division between Hungary and the rest of the European Union on migration policies. On Wednesday, Sargentini's report was adopted in a 448-197 vote, with 48 abstentions.

"We should not use the term 'debate' for what happened! It was a court session convened to condemn Orban ... It was ridiculous. I found this debate grotesque and unworthy of the European Union. I read the Sargentini report, which for me is a rag. It is based on ideological foundations. So I decided to vote against it ... I respect sovereignty and nations. I said what would be my vote," Morano stressed.

She indicated that her EPP group was not unanimous in their thoughts on the report.

"I do not deny that my group, the EPP, was divided. I regret it. The political operation launched by the Green party, worked a bit. We are a few months from the European [Parliament] elections. Like Orban, I am in favor of defining a real strong policy against illegal immigration in the European Union," Morano indicated.

The EPP is the European party regrouping Europe's Christian Democrats, such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) or Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's Austrian People's Party (OVP). It has had internal disagreements for years, since Fidesz - Hungarian Civic Alliance, Orban's party, is also a member of the EPP.

Hungary's voting rights in EU institutions could be suspended if two-thirds of the members of the Council of the European Union vote in favor of invoking Article 7. Before this can happen, all EU member states should unanimously decide to put the issue to a vote. According to experts, the EU member states are unlikely to reach a consensus on the issue, since Poland, which is also at risk of having its EU voting rights taken away, will certainly not support the bloc putting restrictions on Hungary.

Earlier on Friday, Orban himself said that the possibility of being punished by the European Union did not pose a threat to Budapest. According to Orban, the majority of member states supported an open-door migration policy and "hate everyone, who oppose their plans."

Brussels has long been criticizing the Hungarian authorities for their refusal to comply with the EU migration policy. In mid-July, the European Commission filed a complaint against Hungary with the Court of Justice of the European Union over the country's violation of the EU legislation regulating the asylum procedures for migrants.