The case will now be examined by the EP's Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), which will make a recommendation to the plenary for a final decision by MEPs. The actual details of the request were not disclosed by Metsola.

Deutsch, the head of Fidesz's EP delegation, responded on Facebook, saying that Hungarian prime minister-elect Peter Magyar's mother, Monika Eross, had filed a defamation complaint against him.

In his post, Deutsch said the complaint stemmed from his public claim that Zsuzsanna Mikus - a judge not related to Magyar - who had banned a newspaper supplement critical of the Tisza Party, was "a supporter of the Tisza Party, having joined its activist app".

Mikus has denied any involvement with the Tisza Party's app or activities, and the Budapest Metropolitan Court has stated that there is no evidence to support the claims of her affiliation with the party.

Deutsch said Magyar's mother was a former judge who had held several senior judicial positions, and he alleged that Magyar had said that "I have many relatives who are judges, and that's why I will win all my lawsuits."

The Fidesz MEP insisted the statements in his post were "factual and true", adding: "The truth, however, apparently hurts Peter Magyar's mother. She's reported me and is threatening a lawsuit."

"Threatening a lawyer with a lawsuit is like threatening a chef with cooking," he said in a message to Magyar's mother.

Unlike Magyar, he said, "I won't hide behind my immunity, so we will see each other in court."

"No threat, no hate campaign will silence me," he said, suggesting that similar attempts by various political forces in the past had failed.

Eross said in a reply below Deutsch's post that the Fidesz MEP's claims were "untrue".

"I did not report Tamas Deutsch for what he wrote in his post ... but for claiming that it was no coincidence that Peter Magyar, through his judge mother, secured the court ruling that banned a newspaper's special edition which intended to show every Hungarian citizen the horrors of the Tisza Party's left-wing austerity package."

She added that Deutsch had also accused both her and the presiding judge of criminal conduct.

Eross also underlined that Magyar had never said: "I have many relatives who are judges, so I will win all my lawsuits."

The prime minister-elect's mother expressed regret that "someone could serve as Hungary's MEP while seemingly unaware of basic rights", reminding Deutsch that an MEP cannot waive their immunity. She also objected to his use of a family photo, previously shared by Magyar, in his post and demanded its immediate removal.

MTI Stock Photo

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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