Orbán defies EU again and will meet Trump in Florida after his visit to Putin and Xi

The guestbook of the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbáncontinues to swell the ranks of controversial leaders. Since assuming the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union on July 1, the Hungarian president He has visited Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Xi Jinping in Beijing.. A clear challenge to the position that the 27 have adopted with regard to these countries. Far from trying to lower the tone, the Hungarian ultra-nationalist plans to meet this Thursday in Florida with the Republican magnate Donald Trumpaccording to several Hungarian media outlets.

Apparently, it would be a “informal” meeting This has not yet been officially confirmed by Budapest. However, various local portals claim that Orbán will travel to Florida from Washington, where the NATO summit, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary, is taking place.

The discontent towards the Hungarian Prime Minister is evident both in the EU and within the Atlantic Alliance, which has increased its efforts to continue arming Ukraine and on Wednesday accused China of “supporting the Russian war machine.”

As Juan Sanhermelando explained in this newspaper, this week, in a closed-door meeting, the ambassadors of 25 of the 27 member states (all except Slovakia) They scolded their 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 scene. However, for the moment they have avoided take concrete retaliatory measures against Hungary.

Considered the EU leader closest to Putin, Orbán is a declared admirer of Trump, with whom he has met on previous occasions. The last time was last March, at the residence of the former US president. In the opinion of the Hungarian leader, Trump – who has been officially declared a convicted criminal in one of the many legal cases pending against him – could impose peace in Ukraine if he wins the presidential elections in November.

Whatever the reason, Orbán’s visit to Trump is once again causing discomfort in the EU. Not least because the Hungarian is once again acting on his own terms. This time to meet with a politician who has not only criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (present at the NATO summit), but has also advocated stopping aid to kyiv.