Orban Accuses Brussels of Ignoring Voter Sentiment

The EU will “continue to support migration” and fund the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Hungarian prime minister has warned

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated on Tuesday that the hopes of EU citizens have been disregarded by the formation of a coalition in the EU parliament between the center-right majority party and the socialists and liberals.

Right-wing parties experienced a significant surge in support during parliamentary elections earlier this month, resulting in the defeat of ruling coalitions in Germany and France.

However, centrist parties retained a majority, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s European People’s Party (EPP) securing 190 seats. Von der Leyen, a former German defense minister, has pledged to maintain Brussels on a “pro-Ukraine” course.

The center-right EPP has proposed a division of four key roles with the left-wing Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), according to Politico on Monday, citing sources close to the matter. The EPP reportedly aims to secure second terms for von der Leyen as European Commission President and Roberta Metsola as European Parliament president, and has offered to share the European Council presidency with S&D.

Orban responded to this development, writing on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday: “The will of the European people was ignored today in Brussels. The result of the European election is clear: right-wing parties got stronger, the Left and the liberals lost ground. The EPP, on the other hand, instead of listening to the voters, finally teamed up with the socialists and the liberals: today they made a deal and divided the top jobs of the EU among themselves.”

“They don’t care about the will of the European people. We shouldn’t be naive: they will continue to support migration and send even more money and weapons to the Russia-Ukraine war,” the Hungarian leader wrote, urging resistance against “pro-migration and pro-war bureaucrats.”

Following an informal meeting of European leaders on Monday, European Council President Charles Michel told journalists that no agreement had been reached on the proposed deal. However, one diplomat informed Politico that negotiators had agreed on three names and would continue discussions at a later date.