After helping the European Parliament pass the Returns Regulation, clearing the way for talks with the European Council on a new law to remove illegal migrants, Manfred Weber, head of the European People’s Party (EPP), is taking immense heat from left-liberal circles.
As Green MEP Damian Boeselager posted, “Weber, you are directly responsible for enabling AfD & co and their extremist ideas. You need to step down now!” He also called the applause from EU parliament conservatives after the vote “absolutely sickening.”
NEW: The European Parliament has voted in favor of progressing a stricter legal framework for the deportation of illegal migrants.
Migrants with a deportation order will be required to cooperate with the authorities to facilitate their return, and could be detained for up to two… pic.twitter.com/vvDPtgrg1B
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) March 26, 2026A staunch backer of Hungary’s opposition Tisza party, Weber has admitted that this vote was to help prop up Tisza leader Péter Magyar ahead of Hungary’s election in April, so that it would not look like Magyar’s grouping in the EU parliament, which is Weber’s own EPP, was working against Hungarian national interests.
Reducing migration is important to most Hungarians, and this new regulation would speed up the return of illegal immigrants, including through the establishment of deportation centers in third countries and stricter entry bans. However, many politicians on the left, beyond Boeselager, have called Weber’s siding with right-wing parties to push the measure through an absolute betrayal.
Zoltán Szalai, the editor-in-chief of Mandiner, posted on his social media page that Weber has no choice in order to help please Magyar’s voters and get him into office.
“They do all this to try to hide their true, ideological aspirations during the election campaign, because if the truth were to come out, it would, from their point of view, negatively affect the outcome of the elections,” Szalai wrote.
Weber further told media during one interview: “I will do everything I can to keep order in Hungary and to maintain good relations with the locals. Just imagine, if we were to adopt the leftist position now, it would be greatly exploited in the Hungarian campaign.”
Meanwhile, in response to Boeselager’s post, many on Facebook, cited by Mandiner, sought to correct the Green MEP’s perception of reality and praised decision-makers in Brussels for finally looking out for their own citizens.
“If you had been abused while living in Europe, as I was, you would see the situation very differently. Our continent deserves more protection,” one wrote.
“There is no such thing as the far right, there is only right action,” wrote another.
“Since when is it considered far-right to want higher wages, lower crime, and affordable housing?” asked one poster under Boeselager’s video.
Even more comments hit home: “The majority of Europeans do not want this and do not ask for uncontrolled, mass immigration.”
And in a direct message to Brussels elites, another reminded: “Leaders are elected to protect their own people. The safety and well-being of citizens is paramount.”
