European Union wants to boycott key Council of Ministers in Hungary
The European Union is planning to boycott an informal but symbolically important European Council meeting in Hungary at the end of August. According to diplomatic sources, the move is in protest against Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban's visit to Russian president Vladimir Putin last week. Meanwhile, the European Commission is cancelling its planned working visit to Hungary and will not send commissioners to EU ministerial meetings in the country.
With his country temporarily holding the presidency of the European Union, Orban has embarked on a self-proclaimed "peace mission". This has taken him to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as Putin, Chinese president Xi Jinping and former US president Donald Trump. The visit to Putin resulted in criticism from other EU leaders.
Ministers boycott strategy
The EU's high representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, is now said to be considering convening another meeting in Brussels at the same time as the informal meeting of the EU's 27 foreign ministers in Budapest, which would mean the meeting in Hungary would have little or no attendance.
Diplomats say this boycott would be a subtle way of holding the Hungarian government to account for Orban's actions. Although Orban said he was aware that he could not speak on behalf of the EU on the international stage, his visits and use of the Hungarian EU presidency gave a different impression.
Several countries have already announced their intention to boycott a European Council of Ministers. If Borrell convenes another meeting at the same time as the informal foreign ministers' meeting - a tradition for the country holding the EU presidency - the decision will be taken out of their hands. "You should not take the political decision not to go to Hungary, you should stay in Brussels," Borrell said.
On Monday evening, the European Commission announced that it was cancelling the usual visit by the full college of commissioners to the member state holding the presidency. This would typically have taken place this month but had been postponed to September. It has now been cancelled.
"In the light of recent events", Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has also decided that no commissioners but only senior officials will attend the various informal Council meetings in Hungary," her spokesperson said.
The formal Councils of Ministers, where binding decisions on legislation are taken and which take place in Brussels or Luxembourg, will not be boycotted.
Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban © PHOTO JOHN THYS/AFP
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