After Hungary’s pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orban angered European partners by holding a series of unannounced meetings with foreign leaders over Ukraine, EU officials are set to boycott informal meetings hosted by Hungary during its rotating EU presidency.
The highly unusual decision for the European Commission president and other senior commission officials to boycott the meeting was made “in light of recent developments marking the start of the Hungarian (EU) presidency,” commission spokesman Eric Mamer wrote in a post on X on Monday.
Hungary took over the role on July 1, and since then Mr Orban has been on a world tour, visiting Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, China and the United States, calling it a “peace mission” aimed at brokering an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. This has infuriated many EU leaders, who said they were not informed of Mr Orban’s plans in advance. Mr Orban’s government is friendly with Russia, which goes against the policy of most EU countries in supporting Ukraine.
Hungary’s European Affairs Minister Janos Boka slammed the Commission’s decision, saying “the Commission cannot arbitrarily pick and choose the institutions and member states with which it wants to cooperate.”
The European Commission’s decision applies to informal meetings hosted by Hungary, which will be attended by senior officials rather than top officials such as current European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Orban’s government has gone against the policy of most EU countries by refusing to supply Kiev with weapons to thwart a Russian invasion and threatening to block financial aid to the war-torn country.
Longtime prime minister Orban’s visits to Moscow and Beijing, where he met with Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, infuriated his EU counterparts, who said they had not been informed in advance and rushed to clarify that Orban, who holds the EU’s six-month rotating presidency, was not acting on behalf of the bloc.
In an interview with Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet on Monday, Orban’s political chief said the prime minister had briefed other EU leaders “in writing about the negotiations, the experience of the first phase of the peace mission and Hungary’s proposals.”
“If Europe wants peace and wants to have a decisive say in resolving the war and ending the bloodshed, it must decide and act now to change course,” said Baráz Orbán, who is no relation to the prime minister. “A realistic assessment of the situation, realistic goals and the right timing. That’s our approach.”
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The Hungarian government has long called for an immediate ceasefire and peace negotiations in the Ukrainian conflict, but has not said what such a move would mean for the country’s territorial integrity and future security. Even after the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Hungary has maintained a hostile stance toward Ukraine while maintaining close ties with Moscow.
Orban’s critics accuse him of acting against the unity and interests of the EU and NATO, of which Hungary is a member, and of pursuing a strategy of “appeasement” regarding Russian aggression.
After Orbán made an unannounced visit to Moscow on July 5 to meet with Putin – the first such visit by an EU head of state or government in more than two years – von der Leyen accused Orbán of trying to appease the Russian leader, writing to X: “Appeasement will not stop Putin. Only unity and determination will pave the way for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
