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The extremist right-wing Alliance for the Unification of Romanians (AUR) has announced that its MEPs who won 6 seats in the European Parliament elections will join the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group. There is no official confirmation from the group yet, that is dominated by the Hungarian government party, Fidesz’s traditional conservative allies, Giorgia Meloni’s FdI and Poland’s former governing party, the Law and Justice (PiS).
In reaction to the news, Fidesz parliamentary group leader Máté Kocsis wrote on his social media page:
The extremist anti-Hungarian Romanian AUR has been accepted into the ECR group. There is no way Fidesz should sit in the same group as such a party in the European Parliament! No way!
The Romanian ultra-nationalist party AUR is known for its anti-Hungarian statements and provocations, as well as its constant attacks against the Hungarian minority in Romania. Their leader George Simion formerly called the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (RMDSZ) an “ugly, chauvinistic creation” and they are also behind the shocking desecration of the Hungarian military cemetery in Valea Uzului (Úzvölgye), Romania. A significant part of their politics is built on Hungarophobic rhetoric, and they are known for launching hundreds of law-suits against the Hungarian minority’s rights to use their language in Romania.
If the news are confirmed, then this could call the European national-conservative forces’ judgement represented in the ECR into questions. Especially hurtful would be Poland’s Law and Justice’s nod to an AUR ECR membership for Hungarian conservatives, while Giorgia Meloni’s agreement to the Romanian ultra-nationalists’ accession would only confirm her as a politician comfortable dealing with the entire European political spectrum from the far-right to the far-left at the expense of value-based decision-making.
Moreover, regardless of whether the Hungarian governing party Fidesz had intended to join the ECR in the coming future or not, their failure to prevent the seal of approval for AUR from their closest political allies will raise uncomfortable questions about their ability to shape the course of action within the European conservative space. The move will leave little room for Fidesz and KDNP, its junior ally in the government, other than to stay non-affiliated in the European Parliament, or to form their own independent group.
Featured Image: Facebook Mateusz Morawiecki