Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has stated that the European People’s Party would be making a “historic mistake” in helping to elect Frans Timmermans as European Commission president.
In a letter addressed to EPP leader Joseph Daul, PM Orbán wrote that he was aware his Fidesz party currently had no say in the EPP’s policies, after the suspension of its membership in the center-right grouping earlier this year. However, citing “the seriousness of the current situation”, the Prime Minsiter said German and French leaders had made a deal regarding the top EU leadership positions, which would see Timmermans becoming EC president.
PM Orbán said that if the EPP backed this agreement, it would be “making a serious, in fact, historic mistake”, arguing that the party would be giving up its European Parliament election victory. The Prime Minister wrote that such a move would be “humiliating” and would “completely undermine the EPP’s prestige and dignity in the world of international politics”.
The Prime Minister added that the deal would also hurt the party’s dignity in the eyes of its voters. “This leads to our own destruction,” the prime minister wrote, asking Daul to do everything in his power to avert “such a defeat”.
PM Orbán added that he will also discuss the matter with the other EPP prime ministers. Moreover, the Hungarian government would regard the appointment of Frans Timmermans as European Commission president “unacceptable”, a government official said on Sunday, adding the reason why was that the candidate was backed by the Social Democrats and billionaire George Soros.
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