EU foreign ministers plan to skip the Budapest summit scheduled for August 28 and 29, thereby punishing Hungary for Prime Minister Viktor Orbánʼs visits to Moscow and Beijing.
Politico writes about it.
According to the publication, Orbán plans to gather EU foreign ministers for a summit in Budapest to try to shape the blocʼs foreign policy agenda, as Hungary currently presides over the Council of the European Union.
EU ministers want to hold their own summit on August 28 and 29 and not go to Budapest. Three diplomats familiar with the plan say the "formal" council of ministers will be convened by the EUʼs high representative for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell. In this way, they will give Hungary a "clear signal" that it does not speak on behalf of the EU.
This plan has already been discussed with several EU countries, in particular with France and Germany. It is planned that Borrellʼs team will present it to the 27 permanent representatives of the EU on July 17.
- The leadership of the European Union criticizes Viktor Orban for his uncoordinated visits to Russia and China. Orban called these trips a "peaceful tour."
- On July 2, Orban came to Kyiv, where he held talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It was his first visit to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war. During the meeting, Orban called the war an invasion of Russia, but asked Zelenskyy for a ceasefire.
- Already on July 5, Orban came to Moscow and met with the leader of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. One of the key topics of the meeting was the Russian Federationʼs war against Ukraine and its "peaceful settlement". On July 8, Orban came to China as part of his "peace mission".
- On the same day, Zelenskyy said that he did not know that Orban would go to Moscow after Kyiv. He noted that Orban cannot be a mediator in the issue of ending the war — this role can be played by the USA, China and the collective EU, that is, forces that are able to restrain Russia economically and militarily.