POLITICO: EU to boycott Hungary’s foreign affairs summit
Viktor Orbán’s foreign policy, especially his recent “peace mission” travels, has led European Union foreign ministers to consider boycotting Hungary’s foreign affairs summit in August. This move, a consequence of long-simmering tensions, would significantly impact Hungary’s standing.
Hungary, the current president of the Council of the European Union, is set to host a summit in Budapest from 28-29 August. However, as reported by POLITICO, the foreign ministers of the European Union are “increasingly exasperated by Viktor Orbán’s obstruction of EU foreign policy.”
According to sources directly involved, Hungary’s foreign affairs summit may not take place, as the foreign ministers will instead, in an unprecedented step in EU history, hold a separate meeting organised by Josep Borrell. If this happens, it would signal that member states are unwilling to support the Hungarian prime minister’s foreign policies.
Brussels has already chastised Hungary for its policies
POLITICO highlights the strained relationship between the EU and Hungary in recent years. Hungary’s repeated attempts to obstruct aid to Ukraine through the European Peace Facility and Viktor Orbán’s uncoordinated visit to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, hailed as a “peace mission,” have further escalated tensions.
Earlier this month, POLITICO reported that Hungary’s envoy to the European Union, Bálint Ódor, faced an “unprecedented” verbal rebuke from his Brussels colleagues over Budapest’s conduct as the head of the Council of the EU in a meeting lasting over two hours.
Moreover, Hungary’s first gathering in Budapest as the Council president saw only seven ministers and no commissioners attending, a move that POLITICO assessed as “a sign that Orbán’s recent globetrotting mission to bring peace to Ukraine isn’t playing well in other European capitals.”
Amid increasing strain on political relations, EU sources told POLITICO that several foreign ministers
“have been hunting for a way to avoid becoming props in what they believe would be another Orbán propaganda show.”
Hungary’s foreign affairs summit to become a political fiasco?
According to three anonymous EU diplomats who spoke to POLITICO, the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, is set to formally summon all foreign ministers to a council meeting at the same time as Hungary’s foreign affairs summit. This would effectively mean a boycott of Hungary’s foreign affairs summit.
“If there’s a formal foreign affairs council, organized by the high representative [Borrell] the same day, the ministers won’t be able to go to Budapest,”
said one of the diplomats with direct knowledge of the plan.
By boycotting the Hungarian event, another source added, foreign ministers would “send a clear signal that Hungary does not speak for the EU.” Indeed, as POLITICO puts it, “boycotting what is supposed to be a stellar event for the country that holds the presidency to showcase itself on the world stage is an even bigger snub, intended to take the wind out of Orbán’s sails.”
According to the sources, the plan to hold a separate meeting has already been discussed informally with multiple member states, including France and Germany. The plan is set to be presented to the European Union’s permanent representatives on Wednesday.
Read our other coverage of the foreign affairs summit and European Union politics here:
- Six EU members to boycott Hungary’s EU presidency due to PM Orbán’s Moscow journey
- Hungary’s presidency: Is PM Orbán carefully walking a tightrope?
Source: POLITICO