Von der Leyen punishes Orbán with a boycott of the Hungarian presidency meetings in Budapest

Given that Orbán is maintaining his defiance, the Commission President decided on Monday actively boycott the informal ministerial meetings convened by the presidency in Budapest, to which will only send second-level representativesThat is to say, no commissioner will be present, contrary to what is traditional in this type of meeting.

In addition, Von der Leyen has decided cancel the visit permanently to the Hungarian capital, which is traditionally held by the College of Commissioners at the beginning of each presidency. The boycott could also be joined by the Member States, which last week already They scolded the Hungarian ambassador by Orbán’s self-proclaimed ‘peace mission’. “There is a wide appetite to show discontent,” diplomatic sources confirmed to EL ESPAÑOL.

[Los países de la UE abroncan a Orbán por sus visitas a Putin y Xi pero no le quitarán la presidencia]

“In light of the recent events marking the start of the Hungarian Presidency, the President has decided that the European Commission will be represented only at senior official level during informal Council meetings. The College visit to the Presidency will not take place,” The spokesperson for the Community Executive has announced, Eric Mamer.

Von der Leyen has made this decision just three days before the crucial vote in the European Parliament on which her confirmation for a second term as head of the Commission depends. Orbán’s group in the European Parliament, Patriots for Europe (which also includes the parties of Le Pen, Salvini and Vox) has already announced that it will vote against the German.

Minutes after the announcement, The Hungarian government has expressed its displeasure on von der Leyen’s initiative. “The European Commission cannot choose which Member States and institutions it wants to cooperate with. Are all Commission decisions now based on political considerations?” The Minister for European Affairs wrote in X, Boka Janos.

At a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, ambassadors from 25 of the 27 member states (all except Slovakia) scolded to his Hungarian colleague claiming that Orbán’s actions constitute an abuse of the prerogatives of the presidency in order to undermine European unity and sow confusion on the international sceneHowever, at that time they avoided taking any retaliatory measures.

The Hungarian ambassador claimed to his colleagues that Orbán’s visits were strictly bilateralwith the sole purpose of assessing the feasibility and conditions of a ceasefire in Ukraine. However, the Representatives of the other 25 countries denounced that the visits took place right at the beginning of the Hungarian presidency, that their logo was used in public communication and that Both Putin and Xi stressed that Orbán represented the EU presidency.

For their part, the Council’s legal services also stressed “clearly and forcefully” during the meeting that all Member States are bound by the principle of sincere cooperation and that The rotating presidency has only a limited role in the EU’s external representation..