Top EU officials took turns assailing Hungary's Viktor Orban Wednesday over democratic backsliding and his Russia-friendly stance on Ukraine, as the nationalist leader delivered a headline address to the bloc's parliament.
As President Vladimir Putin's closest ally within the European Union, Orban's government is at loggerheads with its partners on a host of issues -- from stalling aid for Kyiv, to what the bloc sees as weakening the rule of law at home.
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In Strasbourg to present the "priorities" of Hungary's norm-defying EU presidency, Orban depicted a continent in crisis, with the Ukraine war on its doorstep and an acute "migration crisis" -- declaring that "the European Union needs to change."
Lawmakers listened respectfully -- with occasional applause from sympathetic members -- but a rowdy rendition of the anti-fascist anthem "Bella Ciao" rang out as Orban finished speaking, prompting a call to order from parliament president Roberta Metsola who said: "This is not Eurovision".
That was the cue for Orban's critics to take the floor and one by one let fly at the Hungarian leader with a message summed up by Green co-leader Terry Reintke who told him: "You are not welcome here."
Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, speaking right after Orban, pushed back hard -- taking aim at Budapest's hampering of EU support for Kyiv and refusal to join Western efforts to arm Ukraine to fight off Moscow.
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"There is only one path to achieve a just peace for Ukraine and for Europe, we must continue to empower Ukraine's resistance with political, financial and military support," von der Leyen said.
- 'Propaganda show' -
When Hungary assumed the EU's rotating six-month presidency in July, Orban went off script: embarking on an uncoordinated Ukraine "peace mission" to Kyiv, Moscow and Beijing that sparked fury in Brussels.
In her forceful address von der Leyen targeted Orban's eagerness to push for an early peace deal with Putin over the Ukraine invasion -- assailing those "who blame this war not on the invader but the invaded, not on Putin's lust for power, but on Ukraine's thirst for freedom."
Speaking next, the leader of the conservative European People's Party Manfred Weber likewise slammed his rogue diplomacy under the EU banner as "a big propaganda show for the autocrats."
Orban's uncoordinated trips prompted von der Leyen to order top officials to skip a series of meetings organised by Hungary's presidency -- a de facto boycott -- and his parliament address was twice delayed.
The commission chief skewered Orban's tough talk on migration -- accusing his government of "throwing problems over your neighbour's fence" with the early release of convicted people-traffickers.
And she took aim at a Hungarian visa scheme for Russian nationals -- calling it "a back door for foreign interference."
One speaker, Dutch MEP Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy of the centrist Renew party, depicted Orban as a character in a "bad movie" -- a "Mini-Me" to Putin, or former US president Donald Trump -- "who looks, talks and acts exactly like Dr Evil, but just sits on his lap."
Hungarian opposition-leader-turned-MEP Peter Magyar lamented that Hungary under Orban's rule "has gone from a bright star to what is officially the poorest and most corrupt country in the European Union."
- 'Political weapon' -
Given a right of reply, Orban accused the EU chief of using the commission's power as a "political weapon" to attack Budapest, and complained that a Hungarian-led new group in the EU parliament, the Patriots for Europe, was being unfairly denied positions of authority.
"We are never going to accept that European unity means that you tell us what to do and that we should keep quiet," he said.
Patriots member Jorge Buxade Villalba was one of several lawmakers who rallied to Orban's defence, calling his speech "a breath of fresh air in this parliament."
"Women are safer in Budapest streets than in Brussels," he said. "And if you were not so sectarian, we would see Hungary's government has a way of making a better life."
Ahead of Orban's speech, various political groups staged photo-op protests outside the hemicycle, with one banner reading "No cash for corrupt" -- in a reference to the billions of euros on EU funds for Hungary currently frozen over rule-of-law concerns.
Since returning to lead his country in 2010, Orban has moved to curb civil rights and tighten his grip on power, repeatedly clashing with Brussels over rule-of-law issues.
But Orban has pointed at hard-right electoral gains from Italy to the Netherlands and Austria -- and the rising influence of his Patriots for Europe -- as evidence the political climate in Europe is slowly but surely shifting in his favour.
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