Honourable Madam President,
In this letter, I would like to protest against yet another communication rampage by Vice-President Katarina Barley.
In a recent interview with the Tageszeitung daily, and in another statement to The Pioneer news portal, reviewed by the Tagesspiegel daily, she has made a number of disparaging and disingenuous statements about Hungary and the Hungarian Prime Minister that go far beyond the bounds of civilised political debate and the behaviour expected of a vice-president of the European Parliament.
Tageszeitung, 17.10.2022
Tagesspiegel, 11.10.2022
It is intolerable and outrageous that the vice-president of the parliament of a political community should incite the press in this way against a member of that community, in this case Hungary. This is particularly unacceptable in the light of Ms Barley’s call in September 2020 for the financial starvation of Poland and Hungary, a statement for which she has not yet apologised to the citizens of the countries concerned.
Dear Madam President,
The extremist behaviour represented by Katarina Barley is poisoning European cooperation and undermining the authority of the European Parliament and, therefore, must not be allowed to go unchallenged. There have already been instances where a vice-president of the European Parliament has been removed from office for making an unacceptable statement. In my view, Katarina Barley has crossed the line with her behaviour, making her unworthy of being vice-president.
I expect Madam President to take the necessary measures to preserve the dignity of the House.
Sincerely yours,
Tamás Deutsch MEP
Head of the Fidesz delegation to the European Parliament