EU parliament condemned PM Orbán’s visit to Moscow

The resolution condemned “Russia’s barbaric missile attack on the Okhmadyt children’s hospital in Kyiv, and the recent visit of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to the Russian Federation, which does not represent the EU and is a blatant violation of the EU’s treaties and common foreign policy. The text states that Hungary should face repercussions for these actions. Given the Hungarian Prime Minister’s so-called “peace mission” was immediately followed by the children’s hospital attack, the resolution also says this shows the “irrelevance” of Orbán’s alleged peace efforts.” HERE is the full text of the resolution.

At its plenary session on Wednesday, the European Parliament adopted its first official position in which most MEPs urged continued and firm support to Ukraine, including increased military support as long as it was needed.

Viktória Ferencz, MEP of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz, said after the vote that the war was a “most trying time” for Ukraine’s Trancarpathia Hungarians, and condemned last week’s Russian attack against a paediatric hospital in Kyiv. “Through restoring peace, such tragedies could be avoided and Hungary has opened diplomatic channels to that end,” she said. The Hungarian government has supported Ukraine’s endeavours to get closer to the EU and restoration of the rights of the ethnic Hungarian community,” she added.

Referring to the EP position’s condemning the peace mission of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, MEP András László said the leftist majority of the parliament and the European People’s Party were “obviously scared” of the initivative and of Orban’s meeting “the leaders of the largest countries and powers”. Hungary tries to facilitate a peaceful settlement in Ukraine through opening diplomatic channels, he said. “We have seen that the European Parliament is not at all open to such an idea and has adopted a contrary position ensuring military aid in all forms and without time constraints to Ukraine,” he added.

According to László, the document’s calling on member states to provide military aid to Ukraine in proportion to their GDP was contrary to the European integration’s original goal of ensuring a lasting peace in Europe. “The EP has so far strived to facilitiate a peaceful rather than a military settlement in all conflicts in the world,” he said and regretted that the body “demands a penalty for Hungary for attempting to open diplomatic channels”.

László also called it regrettable that the EP had rejected Hungary’s proposal to hold a debate on political violence. He said it was “sad” that the EP would not discuss such incidents as the assassination attempts against Slovak PM Rober Fico and former US President Donald Trump and suggested that MEPs voting down the proposal had become “privy to political violence through their silence”. “This cannot be a part of democracy and the EP has made a huge mistake,” he added.