The plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg was the scene this Wednesday of an uncompromising combat between Ursula von der Leyen and Viktor Orbán. An unprecedented head-on clash between a President of the Commission and a Head of Government of a Member State. A crossing of accusations and reproaches live and direct like never seen before. In fact, it is normal for the Community Executive and the current presidency of the EU to mask their differences and exhibit at least a diplomatic tone.
However, Von der Leyen has taken advantage of his intervention in the European Parliament on the occasion of the Hungarian presidency to harshly attack Orbán. And he has presented to the MEPs a long list of charges: aligning himself with Vladimir Putin Instead of supporting Ukraine, facilitating the uncontrolled entry of Russian citizens into community territory, releasing migrant traffickers from prison, undermining the single market or allowing Chinese police to operate on its territory.
Orbán has counterattacked, accusing the German company of having designed a “wrong policy” and a “losing strategy” for the war in Ukraine. The Hungarian Prime Minister maintains that Von der Leyen uses the Community Executive as a “political weapon” to discredit the radical right-wing group Patriots for Europe, led by Orbán himself and in which Vox, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally and others are also active. Matteo Salvini’s League. He has accused the leaders of the rest of the political groups of spreading “lies” and “political propaganda against him.”
The debate began with an initial intervention by Orbán to present to the plenary session of the European Parliament (three months late) the priorities of the Hungarian presidency. A presidency marked by controversy over the self-proclaimed ‘peace mission’ which the Hungarian Prime Minister undertook in July at his own risk and expense with visits to Putin in Moscow already Xi Jinping in Beijing, contradicting official EU policy. Von der Leyen has since announced a boycott of the Hungarian presidency. The Community Executive also keeps billions of European funds blocked from Budapest due to its authoritarian drift.
In this first action, Orbán has limited himself to exposing his agenda in terms of competitiveness or the fight against illegal immigration in an institutional tone. The only controversial moment was when has accused migrants of “increasing anti-Semitism, violence against women and homophobia”. It has also attracted attention that he has not mentioned the war in Ukraine at any time.
Viktor Orbán, during his counter-reply this Wednesday in the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg
But in his reply intervention, just below, Von der Leyen has brought out all his artillery against the Hungarian prime minister. “Our Ukrainian friends are heading into the third winter of war, and Russia is trying to make it the toughest of all. And yet, There are still those who blame this war not on the invader but on the invaded.. “Not to Putin’s thirst for power but to Ukraine’s thirst for freedom.”
“That’s why I want to ask you: would you ever blame the Hungarians for the Soviet invasion of 1956? Or the Czechs and Slovaks for the Soviet repression of 1968? Or the Lithuanians for the Soviet repression of 1991? The people of Ukraine “He is a freedom fighter, just like the heroes who liberated Central and Eastern Europe from Soviet domination,” the President of the Commission told Orbán.
But Von der Leyen’s blows have not ended there. On the contrary, the president of the Commission has been increasing in intensity and has pointed out where it hurts the radical right leader the most. “You have said that Hungary is ‘protecting its borders’ and that ‘criminals are being imprisoned’ in Hungary. I wonder how this statement fits with the fact that last year its authorities released smugglers and traffickers from prison convicted before they served their sentence,” the president blamed him.
Ursula von der Leyen and Viktor Orbán greet each other before the start of the fight
“And speaking of who to let in: how can the Hungarian government invite Russian citizens to our Union without additional security checks? And How can the Hungarian Government allow the Chinese police to operate within its territory?? This is not defending the sovereignty of Europe. It is a back door for foreign interference,” said Von der Leyen. In economic matters, the President of the Commission has accused Orbán of discriminating against European companies and maintaining their dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
“All these lies that the left spread about Hungary are pure propaganda. You are members of Parliament and if you want to do that, you can do it. But I was quite surprised by what I heard from the president of the Commission.“Orbán complained in his counter-reply, in which he adopted his characteristic haughty and combative tone. “It is clear that there are differences of opinion between Hungary and the European Commission, but I do not think it is appropriate to discuss them now that “We are talking about the Hungarian presidency,” he insisted.
What has bothered Orbán the most about Von der Leyen’s intervention – whose re-election he opposed alone – has been the comparison between Ukraine and Hungary’s “freedom fighters” against the Soviet Union in 1956, an equivalence that In his opinion it cannot be done and it is a mistake. The Hungarian Prime Minister has also tried to deny that he has released human traffickers and has harshly criticized the leaders of the main political groups and in particular the president of the EPP, Manfred Weberwhom he has accused of being “anti-Hungarian”.
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