Weber, who has been leading the EPP since 2014, said no calls had been made to expel Fidesz from the party in a radio interview a day before the beginning of the EPP congress, which begins in Helsinki today.
Hungarian Prime Minister and Fidesz president Viktor Orbán will represent his party there and Hungarian officials have previously stated that they support Manfred Weber as the EPP’s lead candidate at the European elections next May against that of former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb.
Stubb is a prominent figure of the EPP’s liberal wing and has several times suggested that Fidesz should be excluded from the EPP. Weber, however, said that while Hungary needs to uphold European values “we should not complain about one another but sit down at the table and discuss (the issues)”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel also supports Weber’s bid for top candidate of the EPP. This, however, does not mean that Weber – should the EPP be the strongest party after the elections – will automatically become the next President of the European Commission as the heads of the member states have a significant degree of liberty in choosing the president.
Title image: EPP leader Manfred Weber (L) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (R) – MTI
