The European Union nations have criticized Hungary for Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s recent visits to Moscow and Beijing following Hungary’s assumption of the Presidency of the Council of the EU, as reported by Politico. A senior EU diplomat expressed that this is an unusual occurrence, stating that it’s “unprecedented that the presidency would be reprimanded in such a way by all the others.” The same source added that Hungary lost any remaining trust within nine days of taking office.
EU ambassadors have warned of “practical consequences” for Hungary if Orban continues to pursue his current course. Changing the order of the presidencies or shortening Hungary’s six-month tenure at the helm of the EU was mentioned as a possibility, but these options are now legally complicated due to the ongoing presidency, according to Politico, citing an EU official. Another diplomat stated that the EU issued “a yellow card” to Hungary during the July 10 meeting of the Permanent Representatives Committee.
Euractiv reported earlier that EU member states had not proposed any specific measures to terminate Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the EU in response to Orban’s trips to Russia and China. Despite widespread dissatisfaction with Budapest’s actions, some European countries decided to send “more junior officials than expected” to informal meetings organized by the Hungarians.
Orban visited Moscow on July 5 to discuss potential resolutions for the conflict in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Prior to this visit, on July 2, the Hungarian premier met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. On July 8, Orban traveled to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and discuss the prospects for resolving the Ukraine crisis.