EU demands explanations from Orbán for hijacking presidency during surprise visits to Putin and Xi

The first Minister Viktor Orbán has taken advantage of the visibility offered by this platform to create chaos and confusion in a series of surprise visits to kyiv, Moscow and Beijing (which he tried hard to conceal from his other partners) in which he has defended positions contrary to the official European line. The next stop for this self-proclaimed “peace mission” It is Washington and Orbán has not clarified whether he will meet with his main American ally, Donald Trumpanother anathema in Brussels.

In parallel, the Hungarian Prime Minister has promoted the creation of a new radical right-wing group, called Patriots for Europe. A faction that is created “against the undemocratic structure of the EU” and “against the decisions of Brussels bureaucrats “These are the main problems that divide the Member States,” explained the vice-president of the group and Fidesz MEP, Kinga Gál, during the presentation on Monday in Brussels. Patriots for Europe (which also includes Marine Le Pen’s MEPs and those of Vox) becomes the third largest group in the European Parliament, with 84 parliamentarians from 12 different countries.

“There is growing concern in the capitals “The role that Mr Orbán claims for himself in the so-called ‘peace mission’ should be clear, when it should be clear that he only represents his own country. Instead, he has intentionally left a lot of ambiguity, for example by displaying the presidency logo in his communications,” laments a European diplomat.

[La UE desautoriza a Orbán: “No tiene ningún mandato para negociar con Putin”]

“Tensions are high after just 8 days of presidency “These are expected to be even higher as we approach the Foreign Affairs Council on 22 July. Hungary is still blocking €6.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine from the European Peace Facility, which has been approved by the other 26 member states,” the diplomat said.

The ambassadors of the Member States to the EU plan to use their meeting on Wednesday to Demand explanations from Hungary for ‘hijacking’ the presidency with the ultimate aim of undermining European unity. Anticipating criticism, the Hungarian representative has already requested that an information point be included in the agenda to inform the other partners about the results of Orbán’s visits.

Since his visit to Putin in Moscow last Friday, both the President of the European Council, Charles Michelas the head of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyenand the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrellhave made efforts to make it clear that Orbán has no mandate to negotiate on Ukraine. The fact that it holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council does not grant it any representation in foreign policy matters, which corresponds exclusively to Borrell and Michel.

However, Both Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have put emphasisin his joint appearances with Orbán, when Hungary holds the EU presidency“We hope that Hungary, as the rotating EU presidency, will play an active role in promoting the healthy and stable development of China-EU relations and achieving positive interaction,” Xi told the Hungarian prime minister.

On his visit to Beijing, Orbán praised China’s efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine, despite the EU’s accusations that Xi is actually providing indirect support to Putin. The Chinese president defended this Monday “a ceasefire as soon as possible and a political solution to the crisis”.

“War does not fall from the sky. War is the result of the decision of certain people. That is why we need to meet with these world leaders. How are China, the US and the EU doing? China has a peace plan. The US has a war policy. And Europe is simply copying the US position,” the Hungarian prime minister said. in an interview with the German newspaper Welt.

Beyond disavowing him at every turn, the EU seems powerless to stop Orbán. Despite warnings from the European Parliament, nothing was done to prevent Hungary from holding the six-month EU presidency (nor is it clear that there was a legal basis for doing so). The Budapest government is already subject to disciplinary proceedings for endangering the rule of law and has been frozen by Brussels. about 21 billion euros for its authoritarian drift. But there is no mechanism to expel a member state from the EU if it does not ask to leave.