EU officials blast Hungary’s Orban over Ukraine stance, democratic decline

Lawmakers belt out antifascist anthem, prompting European Parliament president to declare: ‘This is not Eurovision’.

Top European Union officials have slammed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over democratic backsliding at home and his Russia-friendly stance that has blocked military and financial aid to Ukraine.

Orban, whose country currently holds the EU’s six-month rotating presidency, came under fire on Wednesday after warning officials gathered in Strasbourg, France, about the “migration crisis” and the war in Ukraine as he addressed the European Parliament.

Leading the charge against Orban, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took aim at Budapest’s stalling of EU support for Kyiv and refusal to join Western efforts to arm Ukraine to fight off Moscow.

“The world has witnessed the atrocities of Russia’s war. And yet, there are still some who blame this war not on the invader but the invaded,” said von der Leyen.

“There are still some who blame this war not on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s lust for power but on Ukraine’s thirst for freedom.”

In July, Orban stoked controversy when he travelled on what the Hungarian government described as a “peace mission” to Moscow and Beijing without coordinating with EU partners.

Manfred Weber, the leader of the conservative European People’s Party, said he was shocked that Orban devoted not a “single sentence” to the plight of Ukraine in his speech, slamming his rogue diplomacy as a “big propaganda show for the autocrats”.

Lawmakers lined up to take aim at Orban, who has repeatedly clashed with Brussels over his curbing of civil rights at home since entering office in 2010, with Green co-leader Terry Reintke declaring: “You are not welcome here, this is the house of European democracy.”

Von der Leyen also skewered Orban’s stance on migration, accusing his government of “throwing problems over your neighbour’s fence” with the early release of convicted people traffickers.

She took aim at a Hungarian visa scheme for Russian nationals, saying the lack of security checks posed “a … risk not only for Hungary but for all member states”.

The EU chief also criticised an agreement between Budapest and Beijing allowing Chinese police officers to patrol in Hungary together with their Hungarian counterparts.

“How can it be that the Hungarian government would allow Chinese police to operate within its territory? This is not defending Europe’s sovereignty, this is a backdoor for foreign interference,” she said.

Mainstream members of the European Parliament (MEPs) had promised to hold Orban to account with the Hungarian opposition leader-turned-MEP Peter Magyar among the speakers lined up to challenge him.

“No cash for corrupt,” read one banner held up by left-wing lawmakers, in a reference to the billions of euros in EU funds for Hungary currently frozen over rule-of-law concerns.

After Orban’s speech, lawmakers opposed to his hard-right positions had broken out in a rendition of the antifascist anthem, Bella Ciao, prompting Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, to call for order, saying, “This is not Eurovision”.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies