Opposition leader Magyar says he would ask EP to lift his immunity but has a condition

Péter Magyar, the leader and an MEP of the opposition Tisza Party, on Wednesday said he would be “more than happy” to ask the European Parliament to lift his immunity if the Hungarian government joined the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).

At a press conference with European People’s Party leader Manfred Weber in Strasbourg, Magyar said he believed he had made Prime Minister Viktor Orban “a generous offer” when proposing the EP lift his immunity if Orban instructed his MPs to approve the law on Hungary joining the EPPO.

Asked about the ongoing criminal investigation against Magyar, Weber said he had been contacted by “Viktor Orban’s team” in connection with the case, adding that “the rule of law means exactly that these kinds of things are not politicised or discussed by political leaders.”

“It’s the job of the JURI committee to make an assessment … So those who want to politicise these things obviously have other interests in mind,” Weber said.

The EPP leader said Orbán’s address to the European Parliament’s plenary session was “a great moment to discuss about Europe and the Hungarian internal situation”. He said Hungary was “a strong country inside the European Union” and Hungarians were “true Europeans” who could count on European solidarity.

He said Hungary deserved to have a strong voice at the European level and to have a real impact on the representation of Hungarian interests in the bloc.

“Therefore Péter Magyar and the Tisza Party are now embedded in the EPP family,” Weber said. “So the strength of Hungary, the voice of Hungary, is present with Peter Magyar, with the friends from the Tisza Party, who are doing a great job to deliver on the Hungarian interests. And if I compare this with Viktor Orbán, then I have to say that nobody wants to show up in Budapest, nobody wants to go there.”

He said that whereas in 2011 there were 44 high-level meetings in Budapest, “today no one wants to go to Budapest, so that shows that the Hungarian government today is not delivering on bringing a strong Hungarian voice to the European negotiating table.”

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