Meloni and Salvini in the European Parliament are (still) with Orbán

It was one of the questions of these hours, at least for those interested in European issues: what would the MEPs of the Brothers of Italy and Lega have done by voting on the resolution proposed to the European Parliament condemning Viktor Orbán’s Hungary and calling for the disbursement of European funds without effective improvements on the rule of law? The answer came today. And it marks a departure from Italy’s historical position. Because the representatives of Giorgia Meloni And Matthew Salvini stationed in Brussels and Strasbourg, they have decided to pander to their respective continental alliances instead of the one that at national level links them to a party like Forza Italia, a member of the European People’s Party. And so they opposed the resolution, which however was ultimately approved by the majority, an expression of the Ursula coalition (416 in favour, 124 against and 33 abstentions).

According to the text voted today, the Commission and the European Council should resist pressure from Hungary, and be more rigorous in assessing the 17 points on which the country that adheres to the Visegrad bloc has undertaken to reform. This is why they are asking that the two major supervisory bodies of the European Union be able to ensure that Orbán’s ambiguities do not condition the big matches in which Brussels is immersed between rising energy prices and war in Ukraine. And as a solution they identify the interruption of funds linked to the Pnrr and other European tenders.

Two of the founding countries such as France and Germany in recent weeks have appreciated the agreement signed by Budapest on the reforms, but have asked for concrete steps. Today would have been an opportunity for Italy to take an equally intransigent position. But, evidently, rather than the interests of the Italians, Salvini and Meloni have chosen to defend the interests of the Hungarians.