Deprived of any real job during the EU Council rotating presidency, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán defies once more the EU. Orbán plans to host informal meetings in Budapest to spread discord among the EU member states and promote its pro-Russia agenda. However, the EU leaders decided to boycott the Hungarian Prime Minister’s new idea.
Hungary took over the six-month rotating role on July 1. From the first day, Orbán challenged the official EU policy on the war in Ukraine. Firstly, he went to Kyiv on a visit that resulted in an insult to Ukrainians. Then, he met Vladimir Putin in Moscow and the Chinese President Xi Jinping. His purpose was to advance a “made in Hungary” plan, named pompously by Orbán the “peace mission”. The travels of the Hungarian PM culminated in his meeting with former US President Donald Trump, whose re-election as President desires Orbán.
The EU Council made clear that Orbán represents only his government and that his role as President of the rotating presidency is only and strictly decorative. In addition, Orbán also participated at the informal summit of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) in Shusha, Azerbaijan, on 5-6 July. OTS is considering accepting the membership of the non-recognised “Northern Cyprus”, established on the occupied by Turkey territories of the Republic of Cyprus, a member of the EU. This visit openly questioned the EU’s policy on Cyprus.
Orban’s government has defied other European members’ decisions to support Ukraine by refusing to supply Kyiv with weapons to deter Russia’s invasion. He also threatened to block financial assistance to the invaded country since 2022. His government consistently violates the rule of law by restricting the independence of the judiciary, media, and academic freedoms while also consistently attacking the EU and its institutions.
The European Commission’s decision applies to informal meetings hosted by Hungary. That means only senior civil servants will attend instead of top officials like EU Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“In light of recent developments marking the start of the Hungarian Presidency, the President has decided that @EU_Commission will be represented at the senior civil servant level only during informal meetings of the Council. The College visit to the presidency will not take place,” Eric Mamer, Chief spokesman of the Commission, posted Monday on X.
Last week, several EU countries—including the three Baltic States, Finland, Poland, and Sweden—were close to deciding to send only officials to the informal ministerial meetings in Budapest that Orbán plans to organise in July. Moreover, there were calls to strip Hungary of its presidency altogether from some governments and MEPs, prematurely ending the Hungarian presidency and speeding up the Polish presidency.
