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Fidesz MEP: Von der Leyen mustn’t be allowed to use EU institutions for re-election campaign

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen must not be allowed to use EU institutions for her re-election campaign, Kinga Gal, an MEP of Hungary's ruling Fidesz and vice-president of the Patriots for Europe group, said in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
17. July 2024 5:51

Gal’s comments came after the EC chief on Monday said the executive body will be represented by civil servants at informal Council meetings and that the College of Commissioners will not be visiting Hungary.

Gal said this was not the first time von der Leyen was “enforcing political goals” in cases when she would not be allowed to, citing the withholding of funds owed to Hungary as an example.

The MEP said von der Leyen’s actions went against everything that concerned good-faith cooperation between EU institutions and the order according to which they function. She said it was not up to von der Leyen or the EC to decide whom they would or would not cooperate with, arguing that there were “regulations in place that have worked well so far”.

She said von der Leyen did not have the right to take such action even if she needed to win Thursday’s presidential election and it appeared she was having difficulty securing the number of votes needed.

Commenting on reports that the European Parliament’s Socialist, Liberal, Green, Left and European People’s Party politicians wanted to exclude members of Patriots for Europe from holding key positions in the EP, Gal said this was “a textbook example of how the mainstream doesn’t follow the rules of democracy in the EP”.

She added that she believed it was possible that the case could end up in court.

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