{"id":371539,"date":"2024-06-20T12:36:14","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T10:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2024\/06\/20\/orban-gruppo-ecr-parlamento-ue-romeni-aur\/"},"modified":"2024-06-25T14:00:46","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T12:00:46","slug":"orban-ecr-romania-aur-eu-parliament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2024\/06\/20\/orban-ecr-romania-aur-eu-parliament\/","title":{"rendered":"Orb\u00e1n closes to ECR after Romania’s AUR ultra-nationalists join group in EU Parliament"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels – Nationalists have this problem:\u00a0they are united in words but actions\u00a0because of the national contrasts inherent in their programs and ideology. Yet another example is\u00a0how Fidesz, the party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n, closed the door to\u00a0joining the political family of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)<\/strong> after months of mutual courtship with the Italian Premier and President of the ECR party Giorgia Meloni<\/strong>. The reason is all nationalist and related to the announcement<\/a>\u00a0made late yesterday afternoon (June 19) by\u00a0the conservative right-wing group in the EU Parliament on the entry of five new members of the ultranationalist Romanian party Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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\"Ungheria<\/a>
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n (credits: Szilard Koszticsak \/ Pool \/ Mti \/ Afp)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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“Fidesz will never share a group with such a party in the European Parliament.\u00a0It\u00a0is non-negotiable<\/strong>,” is the harsh attack of Fidesz’s parliamentary group leader, M\u00e1t\u00e9 Kocsis<\/strong>. Words immediately echoed by the Hungarian prime minister’s spokesman, Zolt\u00e1n Kov\u00e1cs<\/strong>, who indirectly exposed Orb\u00e1n on the issue of Romanian MEPs elected from the ranks of the Romanian nationalist party, “known for its extreme anti-Hungarian stance”<\/strong> joining the ECR group. As the conservative right-wing group in the EU Parliament\u00a0said<\/a>, MEPs Claudiu-Richard Tarziu<\/strong>, Gheorghe Piperea<\/strong>, Maria-Georgiana Teodorescu<\/strong>, Adrian-George Axinia,<\/strong> and Serban Dimitrie Sturdza<\/strong>, along\u00a0with Cristian Terhe\u0219<\/strong> of the Romanian National Conservative Party (PNCR) made\u00a0Romania the\u00a0third largest delegation in the 83-member ECR<\/strong> group (tied with the Spaniards of Vox, behind the 24 of Fratelli d’Italia, and the 20 Poles of Law and Justice).<\/p>\n

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\"Hungary<\/a>
From left: Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, the then Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, and Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orb\u00e1n (June 29, 2023)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

Fidesz’s is a significant setback\u00a0after months of talks<\/a>\u00a0between the Hungarian Premier and his Italian counterpart over a possible entry of the Hungarian party into the European political family of conservatives, starting with membership in the ECR group in the EU Parliament. “We are ready, and we will enter.\u00a0The idea was to enter already before the elections, but, at this point, we will do it after the vote<\/strong>,” Orb\u00e1n said <\/a>on the sidelines of the extraordinary European Council in February, answering questions about the destination of his MEPs (10, after the June elections). Since 2021, Fidesz has been relegated to the group of the non-aligned of the EU Parliament<\/strong> after Orb\u00e1n\u00a0decided to leave\u00a0the European People’s Party (EPP) just before suffering the humiliation\u00a0of the now-decided expulsion by the Populars. On the eve of the European elections, the Hungarian PM endorsed<\/a> the proposal of Marine Le Pen<\/strong>, the most charismatic figure of the French far-right Rassemblement National, to PM Meloni to create a single\u00a0group<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0all conservative and far-right parties in Brussels (besides the ECR,\u00a0also Identity and Democracy). At the moment,\u00a0the scenario of a right-wing mega-group<\/strong> – which would count at least 141 members (83 from the ECR and 58, in addition to possible non-registrants and newly elected members) –\u00a0seems\u00a0unrealistic<\/strong>, even given the latest developments between Fidesz and the ECR on the AUR.<\/p>\n

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\"George<\/a>
Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) leader, George Simion (credits: Daniel Mihailescu \/ Afp)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

By bringing the AUR into the group, European conservatives gave\u00a0a clear signal and are unlikely to grow with Fidesz’s 10 seats. Founded in 2020, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians began to grow in the polls under the leadership of<\/strong> George Simion<\/strong>, an ultra-fan known in the corners of Romanian soccer stadiums and a\u00a0strong supporter of the reunification of Romania and Moldova<\/strong> (an idea incorporated into the party’s program<\/a>). AUR is a classic example of far-right extremism on the issues of the traditional family, nationalism, immigration, and relations with the (Orthodox) Church and\u00a0even\u00a0more than ambiguous about its relationship with Moscow<\/strong>: on the one hand, claims on\u00a0Moldova place the AUR on a collision course with the Kremlin, but on the other, several members are open supporters of the Russian autocrat\u00a0Vladimir Putin<\/strong>. Simion\u00a0is suspected of having had contacts with Russian intelligence services, so much so that Ukrainian and Moldovan authorities have banned him from entering their respective territories for security reasons. What is certain is that the Romanian far-right is opposed to military aid to Ukraine and shows a perversion for Vlad III of Wallachia, known as ‘The Impaler’<\/span><\/strong> who ruled various times between 1448 and 1477 and inspired the figure of Count Dracula.<\/span><\/p>\n