The Alliance of the Union of Romanians (AUR), active in Romania and Moldova, has been admitted to the European Conservative and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament.
AUR enters with five MEPs after the EP elections.
“It is a joy to be with our political friends from Italy, Poland and many other countries in the third largest group in the European Parliament,” said Claudiu Târziu, Head of AUR party delegation in the European Parliament to Brussels Signal.
“As a national-conservative party, AUR has always been at the forefront of the fight against the chaos and horrors that the radical left is spreading around the world,”.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s party, Fidesz, which won 10 seats, said that as a result it would not longer seek to join the ECR.
AUR and Fidesz have long had poor relations regarding territorial issues such as Transylvania.
That part of Romania has a strong Hungarian culture — it belonged to Hungary before the 1920 Treaty of Trianon divided the country into several regions.
Another area of tension is Transcarpathia, which is now officially Ukrainian territory, although culturally it also has a strong Hungarian influence.
The AUR has made “certain comments hostile to the Hungarian community in Romania”, said independent sources close to Fidesz.
“AUR are highly Romanian nationalist, and that implies that they have no sympathy for Hungarian minorities and linguistic rights.”
That has angered Budapest, given the importance it attaches to preserving its culture, identity and language there.
AUR countered the allegations and said it considered such attacks “anti-AUR propaganda”.
“How can we do such a thing?” party officials added.
Zoltan Kovacs, Hungary’s state secretary for international communication said on X: “The Romanian AUR party, known for its extreme anti-Hungarian stance, has joined the ECR Group in the European Parliament.
“Fidesz will never share a faction with such a party in the European Parliament. This is non-negotiable!”
🛑Fidesz Parliamentary Group Leader Máté Kocsis: "The Romanian AUR party, known for its extreme anti-Hungarian stance, has joined the @ECRgroup in the European Parliament. Fidesz will never share a faction with such a party in the European Parliament. This is non-negotiable!" pic.twitter.com/Ym6u9hd8H2
— Zoltan Kovacs (@zoltanspox) June 19, 2024
One option for Fidesz now would be to join Identity and Democracy (ID) in the EP, led by France’s National Rally de facto leader Marine Le Pen.
