EUCO: EU decision making must not be dictated by Orbán

Ahead of today and tomorrow's European Council Summit, Philippe Lamberts MEP, President of the Greens/EFA Group, comments:

"We cannot allow the future of Europe to be dictated by a wannabe dictator. This is about the future of our union. We appeal to the statesmen and women in the Council Chamber, do not underestimate the seriousness of the challenges we must face together. We cannot allow EU policy to be dictated by Putin's friend in Europe.

"European leaders must not squander the trust they have built up over supporting Ukraine over the last two years. If the council fails to act at this pivotal moment then the European Union will then have chosen its own paralysis.

"The fact that the Commission and the Council are sitting on the sidelines while Orban makes his threats, spreads his fake news and continues to attack the foundations of democracy, is a tragedy of their own making. By failing to stand up to Orban’s tactics, the Council is paving the way for this kind of blackmail.

"The European Union cannot and must not allow this opportunity to support our future member in Ukraine, a country that has paid with its blood for defending the values on which our Union is built. A failure to support Kyiv would be a failure of European solidarity.

"The dogmatic obsession with debt reduction from the right and centre parties will lead us into another round of austerity that will only cause more misery across Europe. Budgetary restrictions will make it virtually impossible to fund the massive investments needed for the green transition and effectively kill the Green Deal."

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Philippe Lamberts will be at the European Council Summit this evening and tomorrow. Should you wish to arrange interviews please do not hesitate to get in touch.