Opposition parties hail ‘historic step’ by EP approving Sargentini report
Change language:
The European Parliament has made a “historic step” by approving the Sargentini report on Wednesday, opposition Socialist MEP István Újhelyi said.
In a situation like this, in a “normal democracy” the government would voluntarily resign “because of what it has done against Hungary,” he told a press conference in Brussels.
Újhelyi described the decision as convincing, made by a firm majority and spanning over various party families.
Benedek Jávor, an MEP of the opposition Párbeszéd, said the outcome of the vote showed that the majority of the European People’s Party, of which ruling Fidesz is a member, also agreed with the conclusions of the report.
The report criticised the Hungarian government for its actions that violate the interests and rights of the Hungarian people, he added.
“The message to the Hungarian government is clear: undermining and violating basic rights and values cannot go unpunished in Europe.”
According to Jobbik, ruling Fidesz has sacrificed Hungary for its arrogance of power, no-compromise policies and unbridled hunger for money.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has clearly suffered a defeat and the seriousness of the decision is demonstrated by the fact that many members of the European People’s Party, of which Fidesz is a member, and Orbán’s “direct friends and allies” also supported the proposal, Jobbik said in a statement.
“It is immensely shameful for the Fidesz government that no other country had been subjected to such condemnation in the history of the European Union,” the statement added.
Green opposition LMP placed blame squarely on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party for the European Parliament’s approval of the Sargentini report calling for the launch of a sanctions procedure against Hungary.
LMP said in a statement that the report makes “numerous accurate and serious points about the state of the rule of law in Hungary”, adding, however, that only the Hungarian people had the power to “restore the rule of law”.
It is interesting to see how the Left (Socialists, Marxists, Communists, Progressives) are suddenly for human rights, Western values, freedom of the press and fair elections. These people (garbage) oppressed the Hungarian people for over 40 years.