The party's Dutch vice-chairman said the events of that day had brought shame on the whole of Europe. Katalin Levai called the events a political conflict that could only be resolved by political means.

Istvan Szent-Ivanyi said parliament and other official bodies had failed to investigate the events of the past month and a half and draw the necessary conclusions.

At the meeting, four Hungarians who had taken part in the demonstrations of 23 October described what they had seen and what had happened on that day in Budapest. Imre Cigany said police officers had sprayed him with tear gas at close range and shot him in the legs with rubber bullets. Gabor Fabian was heading home from the Fidesz rally when he was caught by police. They broke his leg and one of his fingers. They handcuffed him and shouted that he was a "vile Fidesz croney".

Peter Reiner was standing on Alkotmany utca when police officers started firing at him. Levente Muranyi and his companions were shot with tear gas granades as they tried to reach Kossuth ter. All four claimed the protestors were peaceful and that the police had adopted aggressivve tactics. Video evidence was also played at the meeting.

Alongside Hungarian lawyers and opposition Hungarian MEPs, the opposition MPs Jozsef Szajer and Kinga Gal also spoke.

Szajer said it was unacceptable that such events had taken place in Hungary, but once this had happened, the relevant authorities had a duty to investigate. This had not happened, he said, making it necessary to hold the EPP meeting. "We did not want to do this, but we were forced into it," he said. Kinga Gal emphasised that such events could not take place in an EU member state, and it was unacceptable that there had been no legal consequences.

Camiel Eulings, the Dutch vice-chairman of the EPP, told the meeting that the events of 23 October were horrifying and that police had been very aggressive. This cast not just Hungary, but the whole of the European Union in a bad light. It brought shame on Europe, he said.

There was talk of the EPP setting up a committee of investigation, but it was decided first to await the conclusions of the Hungarian authorities' investigations.