Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will be taking part in the debate on the Sargentini Report in Strasbourg, the Prime Minister’s Press Chief, Bertalan Havasi told the press on Friday afternoon, confirming previous reports published by Hungarian daily Magyar Idők.
The Friday morning edition of the paper stated that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will be personally attending the plenary session of the European Parliament on 11 September in Strasbourg, at which the body will be debating the Sargentini report. The EP will vote on the report on the following day.
The paper pointed out that European Green Party MEP Judith Sargentini had drawn up the report on the state of the rule of law in Hungary, which the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) adopted in July with 37 member votes for and 19 against.
According to the document, civil liberties are being increasingly restricted in Hungary, and the report raises the possibility of stripping Budapest of its right to vote.
Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás called the report a final, desperate attempt by pro-immigration forces to punish anti-immigration Hungary and the Hungarian Government before the end of the current European Parliament term.