EU, negotiations continue. Orban sees Meloni: “No to a tripartite agreement on top jobs”

After the black smoke at the informal dinner between the leaders in Brussels, this week promises to be crucial for the choice of the next EU summits. Negotiations continue in view of the European Council on 27 and 28 June, with the outgoing Commission president Ursula von der Leyen (EPP) running for a second mandate, which for the moment however is not locked down. The meeting that took place today in Rome between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban – who in a few days will take over the leadership of the European presidency – and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni fits into this context: “Italy is among our most important allies ”, said Orban before underlining that “we cannot support this party pact on top jobs”. For her part, the prime minister said she “shares the priorities” identified by the Hungarian “presidency”, “starting from the decision to include the demographic challenge”, but underlining how “our positions are not always coincident” on the issue of the war in Ukraine Meanwhile, today the president of the EPP, Manfred Weber, said that “the victory in the European elections, guided by our contents and our convincing personalities, gives us a strong mandate”.

Orban to Meloni: “Italy is among our most important allies”

Viktor Orban, following his visit to Rome, wrote in X that “there is only one week left for the Hungarian presidency of the EU. Italy is one of our most important allies in achieving our goals in the field of migration and competitiveness. Thank you for your hospitality, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni!”. For her part, the Prime Minister, in the joint declarations at the end of the meeting, said she “shared the priorities” identified by the Hungarian “presidency”, “starting from the decision to include the demographic challenge”, a precondition for a “strong Europe”.

Meloni: “With Orban positions do not always coincide on Kiev”

Giorgia Meloni said that during the meeting “we discussed the Ukrainian conflict, our positions are not always the same but I appreciate the Hungarian position in the EU and NATO which allows allies to make important decisions even when they do not agree. With Viktor we reiterated our support for Ukrainian independence and sovereignty”. Orban instead underlined that “we did not talk about party issues because we already closed on Monday in Brussels where we clarified that we follow national politics and cannot be part of a political family where there is a Romanian party that is anti-Hungarian. But we are committed to strengthening European right-wing parties even if we are not in the same group.” Furthermore, “the original” EU project “was not this, it was to involve everyone, large and small”. The current one “is a path not to be followed. We cannot support this party pact on top jobs,” Orban added.

EU appointments, distance between Meloni and Orban

However, distances remain between Orban and Meloni in the balance of key figures. The Hungarian leader is set to vote neither for von der Leyen, nor Antonio Costa (or Enrico Letta, as plan B) at the European Council, nor Kaja Kallas as High Representative. While the prime minister can play the card of dialogue with the current majority. Meloni, together with Fiala, is the only leader the EPP looks to for widening the majority to the right in the vote for Ursula von der Leyen. The popular leader Manfred Weber, in his presentation of the party as the kingmaker of the negotiations, reiterated that the trio at the European summits will have to take into account three pillars: the guarantee of peace, economic growth, the limitation of immigration with the continuation of the policy of pacts with African countries. And it is precisely the issue of migrants that could lead the EPP to converge with the Conservatives, rather than with the Greens. To hope for reconfirmation at the helm of the Commission, Von der Leyen must expand the coalition formed by Popular, Socialists and Liberals, having fallen below the “psychological threshold” of 400, too few to protect themselves from the risk of snipers in the vote of confirmation to the European Parliament. Hence the crossroads with the opening to the Greens, who asked to join the majority but encountered resistance in the EPP, or to Meloni’s Conservatives. Who in exchange could ask for a Vice Presidency or a powerful Commissioner. In the background remain the unknowns on the legislative vote in France with the Popular Front and the centrists forced to chase Rassemblement National, always ahead in the polls. “I am worried about the elections in France, I say this clearly”, admitted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Weber: “EPP is united, we have a strong mandate”

Today the voice of the president of the European People’s Party, Manfred Weber, was heard again, who at the end of a meeting of the European Parliament wrote in X: “Strong unity today in our political assembly of the European People’s Party. Excellent exchange with Ursula von der Leyen and Roberta Metsola. The victory in the European elections, driven by our content and our convincing personalities, gives us a strong mandate. Europe needs stability. People’s trust is our responsibility.” Meanwhile, sources from the Polish sovereignist party Law and Justice have leaked that their exit from the European Conservatives and Reformists (Ecr) group is possible. The founding meeting of the ECR group in the European Parliament is scheduled for Wednesday, on the eve of the Summit in which the appointments of EU leaders will be discussed. From what we understand, the agreement with FdI remains the priority option for PiS. On the other hand, the founder and president of the Polish sovereignist party, Jarosław Kaczyński, would be more oriented towards rupture, in a dialectic therefore internal to the PiS. The Polish sovereignists would like to open the doors of the party, among others, to Marine Le Pen’s National Rassemblement, which militates in the ranks of Identity and Democracy (ID), and to Fidesz, the party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who in the past legislature passed from belonging to the European People’s Party (EPP) in limbo of the non-members.

EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg

Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union was held today. In the meeting of the 27 in Luxembourg, chaired by the High Representative Josep Borrell, a session was dedicated to the war in Ukraine with the intervention, via link, of the Foreign Minister of Kiev Kuleba. It was also an opportunity to take stock of the results of the Lucerne summit last week. The conflict in the Middle East was also on the table: “We will have the association council with Israel as soon as I receive a positive response on the matter: we have very very important issues to discuss, certainly not to talk about the implementation of the Erasmus program. Until we have a common position among the 27, however, we cannot organize the council”, said the High Representative Josep Borrell at the end of the Foreign Affairs Council. “Tunisia is an important partner of the EU for a long time and in light of the latest internal and external developments we must make a collective assessment and avoid certain events that lead to rapprochements between the government and China, Russia and Iran. But it is the first discussion on the subject”, added Borrell

Closely in the running for appointment as Commissioner

It is clear from the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg that Raffale Fitto is in pole position for the appointment as European Commissioner, but the agreement has not yet been 100% signed. President Giorgia Meloni has not yet resolved the reservation. Fitto is judged to be a key figure in the government and Meloni would be reluctant to give him up.

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