Earlier this week, Manfred Weber, the group leader of the European People’s Party (EPP), congratulated Viktor Orban on his resounding victory in Hungary’s elections. Orban’s far-right Fidesz party continues to hold power in Hungary, and Orban is beginning his third term as prime minister. Weber continued his congratulations by saying he looks forward to continuing to work with Orban to address Europe’s shared challenges. On the Finnish political field, the National Coalition Party belongs to the EPP group in this parliamentary term.
In recent years, the state of the rule of law and democracy in Hungary has deteriorated radically, which is why in spring 2017 several MEPs called for the activation of Article 7, under which the Council can determine that a member state is seriously violating the values on which the EU is founded and place the member state’s EU funding under monitoring. In May 2017, the European Parliament stated in its resolution that the current state of fundamental rights in Hungary gives grounds to initiate a formal procedure to determine whether there is a clear risk that the member state is seriously violating EU values.
In 2016, Hungary received 4.5 billion euros in EU funding. This represents 4.2% of the country’s entire GDP. According to some estimates, Hungary received as much as 40 billion euros in cohesion funding between 2014 and 2016, and up to 80% of Hungary’s public investments are financed with EU money.
“It is grotesque to run an election campaign that is this hostile to the EU, while the country benefits enormously from its membership in the European Union,” snaps Tuomas Tikkanen, Chairman of Young European Federalists Finland.
OSCE observers have stated in their report that Hungary’s elections were technically conducted correctly, but that the media covered the elections in a biased manner. Likewise, according to the report, election financing has not been transparent, and the administration has advertised the elections in line with the themes of the ruling party, Fidesz.
“Flirting with forces hostile to the rule of law and liberal democracy is not in line with EU values or the EPP’s stance. That is why Young European Federalists Finland demands that the EPP show backbone and vision to defend a strong and united Europe, even in the most difficult situations,” Tikkanen concludes.
For more information:
Tuomas Tikkanen
Chairman
+358 40 523 5768
[email protected]
Mikko Kymäläinen
Secretary General
+358 40 911 2049
[email protected]
