The leaders of the European Union are preparing to issue a general address to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on the occasion of his “voluntary diplomacy” and his controversial visit to Moscow, which, according to Brussels, violates EU treaties, according to a publication in the "Financial Times", quoted by BTA.
The group of EU leaders has “discussed various actions, including a joint letter to Orban, which should clearly express their outrage, as well as contain a request to end their uncoordinated foreign policy trips”. Among the measures discussed was the proposal to “convene a meeting of the ministers on European affairs, which would be dedicated only to examining the violations of Hungary”.
Most of the participants in the talks also supported the EU Legal Service's assessment of Orbán's actions, according to which the Hungarian Prime Minister's visit to Russia on July 5 is in conflict with EU treaties.
In the words of Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre de Croix, whose country has held the EU presidency since the beginning of the year, “when handing over power (Orban) said he would do everything to ensure continuity and not undermine the results of the Belgian presidency“ . However, “the way he is behaving is clearly not in accordance with the contracts” of the community, the Belgian Prime Minister commented to the FT.
According to European Council President Charles Michel, Orban's visit to Moscow was a “political mistake”. “It is not the first time they have tried to separate us,”, Michel emphasized. Therefore, in his words, it is necessary to “guarantee that the remaining 26 countries will adhere (to the official position of the EU) and will not be divided by any attempts to sow doubt”, added the President of the European Council.
On July 5, Orbán visited Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two discussed ways to peacefully resolve the conflict in Ukraine and start peace negotiations. Later, the Hungarian Prime Minister was in Beijing, where he met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Before his visit to Russia, on July 2, Orbán discussed the peaceful resolution of the conflict with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
Last night the Permanent Representative of Hungary to the EU, Balint Odor, was subjected to an “unprecedented verbal beating” from his colleagues in Brussels about the way Budapest began its mandate at the head of the EU Council, commented “Politico”. The meeting lasted two hours, and only Slovakia did not have a representative.
"It is unprecedented for the presidency to be censured in this way by everyone else," said one senior EU diplomat.
At a press conference in Brussels yesterday, Hungarian Minister for EU Affairs János Boca indicated that the talks held during Orbán's visits to the Kremlin and Beijing "were not on behalf of the EU, they were not conducted on the basis of a mandate from the European institutions, were not conducted on behalf of the European Union or any of its institutions”. “The Prime Minister is aware of the responsibilities of the Presidency of the Council of the EU, and in the spirit of this responsibility he informed the President of the European Council and the heads of state and government about these visits,” he added.
Permanent representatives to the EU, however, disputed these claims, echoing the views of many of their leaders who have already publicly condemned the Hungarian prime minister's trips.