MEP Tamás Deutsch said a European People’s Party’s EP group meeting on Wednesday night was “calm and sober, despite earlier hopes by the EPP’s adversaries”.
According to MTI, Deutsch said that the group’s board had decided before the meeting not to put a proposal aimed at his expulsion on the agenda. He also noted that he had repeatedly apologized for his earlier, contested remarks. Deutsch said that the “balanced” tone of the meeting had shown that “in the EPP, common sense prevails at the time of the pandemic, when there’s no room for divisive political disputes”. He added that MEPs welcomed the group’s resolution to call on the EPP to pass a final decision concerning Fidesz’s membership, adding that the group’s “firm stance is a positive development”.
Fidesz’s membership was suspended in March 2019, due to the Hungarian party’s critical stance and “alleged violation” of EPP values. EPP’s officials “have since kept the issue in their drawer”, Deutsch said, adding that his peers had been urging “meaningful negotiations” to determine whether Fidesz and EPP “wish to continue their political career together or opt to change their cooperation”.
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