“A common front has emerged within the European system against Orban” Italian pundit on Caliber.Az

Caliber.Az interview with leading analyst of Vision&Global Center (vision-gt.eu) Fabrizio Vielmini (Italy).

- Mr. Vielmini, how do you assess the early resignation of Charles Michel from the post of head of the European Council? Could this somehow affect European politics?

- Let me start with the fact that for the first time, we are talking about the resignation of the current head of the European Council, and most likely, behind this decision are primarily the personal interests of Michel himself. As you know, his powers as President of the European Council expire in November 2024, and elections to the European Parliament are due to take place in June. Therefore, as a politician representing the interests of the EU, it is more profitable for him to run for MEP.

In addition, within the European structure, everyone realized that in the EU system, the main competitors are the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council. Simply put, the competition is between Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani spoke about this last week, noting that this fact has already become a problem within the EU.

- What causes concerns about the possible election of Viktor Orban to the post of head of the European Council?

- Viktor Orbán has been the main critic of the European system since its formation. He plays the role of the main Eurosceptic within this system, and the European mainstream, represented by figures such as Charles Michel, fears Orbán as a politician whose views contradict European values. Naturally, their fears are also related to Orban’s reluctance to conflict with Russia, which runs counter to Brussels’ policy. And together, all this contributes to the creation of a common front against Orban within the European system.

- Do you assume pressure from the EU on Hungary in case Viktor Orbán is nominated for the post of the head of the European Council? For example, in the form of reduced investments from the EU budget?

-Yes. Although I don’t think that Orban will be elected President of the European Council. At the same time, I admit that the EU will use the figure of Orban as a bogeyman to promote the former head of the Italian government, Mario Draghi, to the post of head of the European Council. This politician is considered the most acceptable figure in the current European system, where financial interests and liberal views prevail.

- Assuming that Orban does take the chair of the European Council, will it affect the EU's policy in the South Caucasus?

- In this situation, I don’t think that Orban’s figure in this post will radically change the EU’s position on the issue of normalizing Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. At the same time, in my opinion, the EU has made a certain contribution to accelerating the process of normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, and in creating a stronger diplomatic framework for solving this long-standing problem.