Hungary's leader calls for change at the top in June European elections at a far right gathering

BRUSSELS (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Wednesday urged voters to reject mainstream political parties in upcoming European Union elections for their failure of leadership and said Ukraine must never be allowed to join the bloc or NATO.

Orbán, the keynote speaker at a gathering in Brussels of international far right politicians and supporters, railed against EU climate policy and agriculture rules that he said have left farmers in great difficulty. He said that Europe’s “migration crisis” is now bigger than ever.

“The sense of this European election is: change the leadership,” Orbán told an audience of about 200 people, as campaigning heats up for Europe-wide polls on June 6-9. “If the leadership proves to be bad, it must be replaced. That’s so simple,” the right-wing populist leader said, to applause.

Orbán — a self-proclaimed “illiberal democrat” — took aim at the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, for using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to attack his country. “The bureaucrats in Brussels tried to suffocate Hungary financially,” he said.

The commission has denied Hungary access to billions of euros over concerns about democratic backsliding in the country and the possible mismanagement of EU money.

The Hungarian leader, who has been in office since 2010, also underlined the failure of EU sanctions to stop the war in Ukraine. Addressing the fact that he’s often described in the media as a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Orbán said: “My mother is not happy.”

He said Hungary’s biggest concern is that it does not want to share a common border with Russia again and that Ukraine should not be allowed to join the EU and NATO. “Guys, you have to understand that you are a buffer zone country. You can’t change your house number,” he said.

Ukraine has applied to join both organizations, but it’s unlikely that it will be permitted to do so while the war rages on, and Hungary has routinely vetoed high-level talks with the country and funds to keep its conflict-ravaged economy afloat, standing alone against its Western partners.

Orbán said “Ukraine is now just a protectorate” relying on Western money and weapons and is “not a sovereign state anymore.” However, NATO and EU leaders insist that the war is an existential question for Europe and that Putin must not be allowed to win.

The National Conservative conference, a gathering of strident nationalists and fundamentalist Christians, resumed earlier on Wednesday after winning a legal challenge against authorities in the Belgian capital who feared the event could pose a threat to public order.

French far-right figurehead Eric Zemmour had been scheduled to criticize the EU’s new migrant and asylum rules at the event Tuesday but was turned away by police. He returned Wednesday, was quickly surrounded by media, stood for a few photos with admirers and retired to the VIP room.

Emir Kir, mayor of the Saint-Joss neighborhood where it was held, had ordered police to prevent people from entering.

Kir acted after a group of anti-fascists threatened to disrupt the meeting. Indeed, the group had harassed conference organizers in recent days, forcing them to change venues twice. No protesters were in sight hours after police began to shut the event down but around 50 gathered after most participants had left on Tuesday.

After an overnight legal challenge, a Brussels judge put stayed the closure order. On Tuesday, Nigel Farage, the man credited with taking Britain out of the European Union, addressed the crowd, saying that “a new form of evil ideology” had tried to silence the conference.

The Belgian and British leaders expressed concern about developments.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, a liberal and opponent of the far right, called the shutdown unacceptable in a post on the X platform.

“Municipal autonomy is a cornerstone of our democracy but can never overrule the Belgian constitution guaranteeing the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly since 1830. Banning political meetings is unconstitutional. Full stop,” he wrote.

A spokeswoman for Rishi Sunak said the British prime minister thought the move was “extremely disturbing.”

NatCon 2024, as the event is dubbed, is a haven for many of those on Europe's extreme right that mainstream parties fear most. Surveys suggest that centrist parties are likely to retain power after the June elections, but possibly with a reduced majority.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during the National Conservatism conference in Brussels, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during the National Conservatism conference in Brussels, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Germany's Hans-Georg Maassen attends the National Conservatism conference in Brussels, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Activist Gloria von Thurn-und-Taxis looks at her electronic device as she attends the National Conservatism conference in Brussels, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

French politician Eric Zemmour, center, speaks with the media as he arrives for the National Conservatism conference in Brussels, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

From left, Lawyer Paul Coleman, Catholic priest Father Benedict Kiely and activist Gloria von Thurn-und-Taxis attend the National Conservatism conference in Brussels, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during the National Conservatism conference in Brussels, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Police look on as demonstrators hold a banner outside the National Conservatism conference in Brussels, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Former MEP and Honorary President of the Reform UK party Nigel Farage speaks during the National Conservatism conference in Brussels, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Former MEP and Honorary President of the Reform UK party Nigel Farage, right, and member of the Flemish separatist party Vlaams Belang Filip Dewinter arrive for the National Conservatism conference in Brussels, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Police guard outside the front entrance of the event venue as the National Conservatism conference takes place in Brussels, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A panel of lawmakers dismissed on Monday an ethics complaint against Speaker Dean Plocher, breaking from a Republican who argued that Plocher used his power as the House leader to block an investigation.

Members voted 7-2 to dismiss allegations against Plocher for misuse of taxpayer dollars, using his influence to push a pricey contract with a company with ties to his employer, and retaliating against staffers who raised complaints. One Democrat voted present.

“From the outset of this investigation, I’ve maintained my innocence,” Plocher told reporters after the hearing. “The Ethics Committee has finally reached the very same conclusion that I offered everybody back in November, and they vindicated me.”

Plocher is running as a Republican for Missouri secretary of state.

Republican Ethics Committee Chair Hannah Kelly, appointed to the position by Plocher, sought to dismiss the case “due to the inability of the committee to finish the investigation as a direct result of obstruction of the process and intimidation of witnesses by the respondent.”

“The Speaker’s obstruction of the ethics investigation, coupled with his dishonesty and intimidation tactics, should concern every member of the House,” Kelly said in a statement after the vote. “The attempt to manipulate and cover up an ethics investigation reveals a troubling disregard for accountability and the rule of law.”

Other committee members, led by Republican Rep. John Black, voted to strip Kelly's addendum on alleged obstruction from the official report. Black declined to comment to reporters about his decision.

Asked by reporters Monday, Plocher said he “fully cooperated” with the investigation.

“I adamantly deny that I obstructed anything,” Plocher said.

Another Republican lawmaker in October had filed the wide-ranging ethics complaint against Plocher, alleging that he improperly accepted taxpayer dollars as reimbursement for business trips that he had already paid for with his campaign funding.

Plocher admitted to wrongfully being reimbursed for a business-class flight to Hawaii and other work trip expenses, and records show he repaid the House.

Plocher also faced claims that he used his influence as speaker to push the House to contract with a company connected to the law firm where he worked, and that he retaliated against staffers who raised concerns about the proposal.

Ethics Committee members voted on April 15 against recommending that the House send a letter to Plocher denouncing his conduct and directing him to hire an accountant.

Since then, Plocher's lawyers have pushed the Ethics Committee to close the case against him.

In an unusual move that appears to violate the House's self-imposed ethics rules, Republican Speaker Pro Tem Mike Henderson tried to force the committee last week to meet by scheduling an ethics hearing.

Kelly canceled the hearing but called for Monday's meeting amid mounting pressure.

Only Kelly and Democratic Vice Chair Robert Sauls voted against dismissing the case.

“I am appalled by what I witnessed today as some of my colleagues on the House Ethics Committee decided to turn a blind eye to the obstruction, intimidation, and retaliation we uncovered during our investigation,” Kelly said in a statement.

The draft committee report released earlier this month outlined the speaker's lawyer's refusal to talk to an independent investigator, Plocher's reluctance to sign off on subpoenas for the investigation, and his refusal to approve payment for the independent investigator.

Plocher later recused himself, allowing the speaker pro tem to sign off on subpoenas.

In a report to the committee, the independent investigator wrote that she had never encountered “more unwilling witnesses in any investigation in my career.”

“The level of fear expressed by a number of the potential witnesses is a daunting factor in completing this investigation,” investigator Beth Boggs wrote March 2.

On Monday, Kelly tried to read a letter she said she received from someone documenting retaliation for participation in the ethics investigation but was silenced by an 8-2 vote.

FILE - Missouri Speaker of the House Dean Plocher listens as Gov. Mike Parson delivers the State of the State address, Jan. 24, 2024, in Jefferson City, Mo. On Monday, April 29, 2024, a panel of lawmakers dismissed an ethics complaint against Plocher, breaking from a Republican who argued that Plocher used his power as the House leader to block an investigation. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)