Candidates for Sweden’s Moderate Party have called on the party of Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán to leave the European People’s Party (EPP) ahead of the European Parliament elections.
The Swedish Moderates, along with the “centre-right” Christian Democrats, are also members of the EPP, and according to Moderate candidate Tomas Tobé it is time for Orbán’s Fidesz to leave it, Metro reports.
“With regard to Hungary, it is clear that the government’s dismantling of the rule of law is contrary to the fundamental values of the EU,” Tobé alleged.
The Moderate candidate also said his party backs the EU’s Article 7 proceedings against Hungary, which could see sanctions and fines imposed on the Central European nation.
The Article 7 process was triggered following a report accusing the Orbán government of corruption, abuse of migrants, and other accusations of the government interfering the activities of the press and academia — allegations which the Hungarians deny.
Orbán, Salvini Set to Take On Globalism at EU Elections with Anti-Migration Front https://t.co/a3i860I9d7
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 29, 2018
Tobé boasted that the Article 7 proceedings “in the long run can lead to the country being deprived of its voting rights within the EU,” adding: “I am very critical of the development in Hungary and do not believe that Fidesz should remain in the [EPP] group, it is time for them to leave now.”
While Hungary and Viktor Orbán may have adversaries within the EPP, they have staunch allies elsewhere, such as Poland’s governing Law and Justice Party (PiS) who have said they would veto any attempts to introduce sanctions on Hungary.
Orbán has also made a solid ally in populist Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini following a meeting between the pair last year, in which Orbán called Salvini his “hero” for closing Italian ports to NGO migrant ferries.
Salvini has also seen a dramatic rise in popularity in Italy, with an EU projection for the upcoming election in May revealing that his party, the League (La Lega), could become the second-largest in the European Parliament after German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Hungary: New Campaign Warns EU Planning to Flood Bloc With Migrants https://t.co/O7R7vPy4x8
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 20, 2019
Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com
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