Czechia's ODS Snubs Orban's Bid To Join ECR Group In European Parliament Over Ukraine

Seznam Zpravy reports that Czechia's ruling ODS party is against the admission of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz to the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) faction in the European Parliament (EP) over his policies towards Russia and Ukraine. ODS's MEP Alexandr Vondra, who has long defended Fidesz against various criticisms, told Seznam Zpravy that Hungary's ruling party will not be admitted to the ECR unless it changes its position on the ongoing war in Eastern Europe.

• Viktor Orban has been looking for a new European affiliation for Fidesz after the European People's Party (EPP) suspended its MEPs and tweaked internal rules to allow for their ouster, which led to their voluntary exit from the largest faction in the European Parliament in 2021.
• Despite lacking any formal affiliation, Fidesz has been collaborating with other right-wing parties, such as Law and Justice and Brothers of Italy, two largest contributors of MEPs to the ECR faction in the EP. Orban said last month that he was holding membership talks, but an ECR spokesperson clarified that he is yet to formally apply.
• Orban's relations with his right-wing allies soured as the Law and Justice government in Poland became one of the leading advocates of supporting Ukraine's war effort, while Brothers of Italy's Giorgia Meloni was reported to be trying to persuade Orban to drop his veto on continued aid and EU membership talks for Kyiv.
• The admission of Fidesz would increase the ECR's presence in the EP by 12 MEPs from the current 67, while also allowing the group to leverage Hungary's rotating presidency of the European Council which will start shortly after the upcoming European election. On the other hand, it would amplify Fidesz's voice in the EP.