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Emmanuel Macron lunch this Friday, October 11 Viktor Orban to lunch at the Elysee Palace in Paris. This is the first official bilateral meeting between the French and Hungarian leaders. The climate has changed between those who, a little over a year ago, had mutually designated themselves as opponents in the European elections.
Both have just seen their candidate for the European Commission rejected by the Brussels Parliament. Two unpublished refusals: the Hungarian Laszlo Trocsanyi could not even pass an audition when the French Sylvie Goulard is the first candidate of her country to wipe a defeat. The comparison stops there: Budapest had anticipated the rebuff and introduced a new candidate in the wake, while for Paris it is a major setback, despite the signals from Parliament. These two camouflets blow to blow should fuel the discussions between the leaders of the two countries concerned: Emmanuel Macron and Viktor Orban meet around a lunch at the Palais de l'Elysee in Paris, their first official bilateral meeting.
A lunch between two men who are politically opposed but who found themselves defending the same choice for the presidency of the European Commission: that of the German Ursula Von Der Leyen . It was last July, when the European Council gave birth in the pain of casting new leaders of the European institutions.
" Emmanuel Macron has reached an agreement with Viktor Orban and the PiS Poles to have their support for the European Parliament to get Ursula Von Der Leyen through. This is his original fault , "says Green MEP David Cormand, who denounces the" dangerous links between the French and the Hungarian ".
Angela Merkel had in any case herself made phone calls, including to the Polish government, the very day of the vote which had seen the former German minister confirmed to nine votes, the narrowest majority in history for this post. German Manfred Weber, the leader of the EPP (right in the European Parliament), had in any case refrained from targeting the Chancellor. He had denounced a " Macron-Orban axis " to prevent him from becoming president of the European Commission. Faced with their public opinions, Paris and Budapest had presented this choice as a victory.
Remote dueling
And even at the height of the staging of their antagonism, never has any gesture been neglected: Katalin Novák, Secretary of State for the Family and Youth, was thus made knight of the Legion of Honor , the highest distinction of the French State, a year ago. It was a few weeks after a distant exchange that set the duel between two visions dreamed of by the two men for the pre-European campaign: " There are currently two camps in Europe. Emmanuel Macron is at the head of the political forces supporting immigration. On the other hand, there are some of us who want to stop illegal immigration , "the Hungarian prime minister said in August 2018 alongside former Italian minister Matteo Salvini, whom Viktor Orban described as" hero "for having closed the country's ports to refugees. Emmanuel Macron immediately seized the opportunity to reinforce the cleavage he sought to install between " nationalists and progressives ". " If they wanted to see me as their main opponent, they are right ! Had launched the head of state.
On several occasions, Emmanuel Macron did not hold his blows against the Hungarian leader , whom he accused of " advocating a hate speech " or " lying to his people " when speaking about Europe: " How lives Fidesz [Viktor Orban's party], who finances them? Who paid them? Who made their career? The European Structural Funds! He had launched in Slovakia on October 26, 2018. The French president had also visited the Czech Republic but had missed out on Poland and Hungary, hoping to sink a corner in the V4, the four countries of the group Visegrad , of which Hungary is one. At that time, the pro-government Hungarian press did not spare the French president, personally attacking him and developing a conspiracy argument which notably presented him as an unpopular drug addict elected thanks to hidden financial networks.
realpolitik
At the beginning of autumn, the time for invectives seems to be over. On the account of the spokesman of the Hungarian government, the photo that illustrates the announcement of the lunch on Friday of Viktor Orban at the Elysee presents the leader shaking hands with Emmanuel Macron, eyes in the eye. " There has never been any insulting remarks from Viktor Orban, " said a French diplomatic source. The time is therefore for " compromises " and " reconciliations of positions " according to Paris. In other words, to realpolitik. If Emmanuel Macron passes the towel, it is because there are many topics on the table of the next European Council [which brings together the 28 heads of state and government of the EU] in Brussels on 17 and 18 October. " What opposes us does not detract from the fact that we sit around the same table at the European Council and work together, " said a diplomatic source.
" Budget of the European Union, climate, reform of the Dublin Regulation, there are many topics where unanimity of the council is needed to move forward, " says one in the macronist camp in Brussels. Added to this are the problems of Brexit, EU enlargement, and relations between the EU and China. But it is especially the file of the immigration that wants to push Paris. At the Elysee Palace, the " new political context in Europe is opening a window of firing " is thought to advance on a stalled record. Emmanuel Macron wants to know the intentions of his Hungarian counterpart. The French president has abandoned the idea of imposing quotas of mandatory distributions of migrants and instead proposes the idea of a mandatory contribution by each state to migration policy.
" Not an enemy "
While he has made immigration one of his new priorities, is the French president trying to send a message by receiving the champion of zero immigration? " No, do not overinterpret the calendar, " warns a diplomatic source, who rejects the idea of any " rapprochement " between the French and the Hungarian: " Our approach has not fundamentally changed. Everyone knows our disagreements with Viktor Orban on values . But " he is not an enemy anyway " takes care to add this source.
NGOs like Human Rights Watch are calling on Emmanuel Macron to discuss with Viktor Orban the question of violations of the rule of law in Hungary. Since last September the country is under the most radical procedure against a Member State flouting European rules. It can lead to a suspension of voting rights. What is being blamed on the Hungarian government? " Corruption and conflicts of interest ", attacks on "the functioning of the constitutional and electoral system ", " the independence of the judiciary " and " individual freedoms and refugee rights ".