Leaked footage raises questions about collusion between European Commission and Hungary's far-left
Last night, the Hungarian news channel HírTV published damaging revelations about political links between the Hungarian far-left opposition party Momentum and the Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová.
In leaked video footage, Anna Donáth, a member of the European Parliament, is seen openly boasting about talking to Jourová regarding the Hungarian domestic situation 'every three days'. The information is revealing considered both both Jourová and Donáth had vehemently denied they were in contact in the past. Donáth herself denied the claim during a debate with Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga.
"Many people look for me, the law and order questions belong to me," she said in the foogage. "I have spoken with Vera Jourova on the phone every three days. Only informally, you know... issues regarding law and order belong to her portfolio. This is why its so important...
The footage raises serious questions about the independence and credibility of the European Commission, which is at loggerheads with the Hungarian government with regards to its handling of the migrant crisis and rule of law issues.
In the video, Donáth had claimed to have similar contacts with French green MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, the rapporteur of the Article 7 proceedings against Hungary. In the video, Donáth refers to Delbos-Corfield as the “new Sargentini”, referring to Judith Sargentini who drafted a report against the Hungarian government which first prompted the EU's rule of law hearings.
"There were quite a few informal phone-calls and discussions, not only with them [Jourova and Ursula von der Leyen], but also with the new [Judith] Sargentini, Gwendoline Delboss French MEP from the Greens, she is taking the Hungarian question forward, and I must say that my work was 90% successful," said Donáth in the footage.
Last night, the Hungarian news channel HírTV published damaging revelations about political links between the Hungarian far-left opposition party Momentum and the Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová.
In leaked video footage, Anna Donáth, a member of the European Parliament, is seen openly boasting about talking to Jourová regarding the Hungarian domestic situation 'every three days'. The information is revealing considered both both Jourová and Donáth had vehemently denied they were in contact in the past. Donáth herself denied the claim during a debate with Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga.
"Many people look for me, the law and order questions belong to me," she said in the foogage. "I have spoken with Vera Jourova on the phone every three days. Only informally, you know... issues regarding law and order belong to her portfolio. This is why its so important...
The footage raises serious questions about the independence and credibility of the European Commission, which is at loggerheads with the Hungarian government with regards to its handling of the migrant crisis and rule of law issues.
In the video, Donáth had claimed to have similar contacts with French green MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, the rapporteur of the Article 7 proceedings against Hungary. In the video, Donáth refers to Delbos-Corfield as the “new Sargentini”, referring to Judith Sargentini who drafted a report against the Hungarian government which first prompted the EU's rule of law hearings.
"There were quite a few informal phone-calls and discussions, not only with them [Jourova and Ursula von der Leyen], but also with the new [Judith] Sargentini, Gwendoline Delboss French MEP from the Greens, she is taking the Hungarian question forward, and I must say that my work was 90% successful," said Donáth in the footage.
If the Momentum MEP Anna Donáth's claims prove to be valid, it will raise serious questions about her and Jourová's previous claims about no informal contacts with the Hungarian opposition exist. Donáth's Momentum party belongs to the same political parliamentary group as Jourová's ANO, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE). If indeed such discussions have taken place on a regular basis, the Orbán government's claims of a collusion between Hungarian opposition parties and European Union decision-makers appear to have been proven accurate.
Donáth, daughter of the Hungarian Socialist politician and member of Parliament László Donáth, is one of the most vocal critics of the Hungarian government within the European institutions. She is a member of the Momentum radical-left party that is particularly popular among university students and young graduates.
The scandal comes only a few days after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had called for the resignation of Jourová in connection with her interview for the German newspaper Der Spiegel, in which she claims that Hungary is a 'sick democracy' where people are not able to get unbiased news due to the lack of free speech and media in Hungary.
Orbán had written a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, calling for Jourová's resignation for what he regarded as an insult to the Hungarian people. Jourová refused to apologize for her remarks and publicly asserted that she stands by her comments even though observers had pointed out that four out of the five of the largest Hungarian online news websites are strongly anti-government, as is the majority of the Hungarian media.
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