European Parliament
The first plenary session of the newly constituted European Parliament (EP) on Wednesday in Strasbourg revolved around support for Ukraine. The Hungarian Prime Minister’s peace mission inevitably came up.
On behalf of the EPP, which remains the largest group in the new EP, the Pole Andrzej Halicki referred to a motion for a resolution in support of Ukraine, which had been welcomed by most groups. Addressing the new Patriots for Europe group, he said: “No one who undermines our joint efforts has the right to call themselves a patriot.” He added that no one should negotiate with Putin. The Spanish socialist Iratxe García Pérez attacked Viktor Orbán directly. “The loud-mouthed leader of the new pseudo-patriots group, Viktor Orbán, met with Putin to denigrate the EU and agree on a peace plan that supports Russian expansion.” She said that Ukraine would win the war – even if it took years – because the “battle of ideals” had already been won.
Barella: Statement is “problematic”
For the third-largest Patriots faction, Frenchman Jordan Barella said that Russian imperialism should not be allowed to take over Ukraine and threaten international peace. The EPP statement was nevertheless “problematic”, as was the proposal to admit Ukraine into NATO. Regarding the planned condemnation of Orbán’s visit to Moscow, Marine Le Pen’s party colleague said: “Hungary, as a stable partner of the transatlantic alliance, cannot be accused of having a negative influence on the processes when it tries to encourage negotiations with the Russians.”
For Giorgia Meloni’s ECR conservatives, another Pole warned of Russian aggressiveness. Joachim Brudzinski stressed that only a victory for Ukraine was possible, otherwise Putin would advance to the borders of the EU and prepare another invasion. In this sense, Valérie Hayer from Renew agreed with him, saying that supporting the Ukrainian people and their neighbors is a moral duty. “Contrary to the Kremlin’s fake news, there is only one aggressor and only one victim.” The EU’s solidarity with Ukraine was then emphasized by the Greens’ deputy group leader, Sergey Lagodinsky.
For the Left, co-chairman Martin Schirdewan pointed to the ineffective sanctions once morest Russia. German exports of spare parts for the automotive industry to Kyrgyzstan have increased by several thousand percent. “It is quite clear that these exports are intended for Russia. And the EU is doing nothing.” The reason why the sanctions are not effective is because of the large corporations that do not want to lose money just because Russia is at war.
A plea for Orbán
Finally, AfD politician René Aust spoke out in support of the Hungarian Prime Minister. The chairman of the newly founded “Europe of Sovereign Nations” group pointed to the failure of the EU strategy in the Ukraine war, which called for a new approach. “That is why, dear colleagues from Hungary, I am grateful to Prime Minister Orbán for taking on leadership responsibility in Europe. Political leadership in a democratic society means standing up for what is right, even when there is resistance. It means not running following what is comfortable and popular, but making what is right popular.”
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