Hopefully, there will be a sound voice that will warn the ministers that this kindergarten pace is quite pathetic.
Even though Viktor Orbán is organizing a foreign affairs summit in Budapest at the end of August, the foreign ministers of the other EU countries will boycott this event and organize their own summit - this is what Politico writes about. Josep Borrell is said to announce the "counter event" this week, with which they will try to "take the wind out of Orbán's sails".
The foreign ministers of the European Union are preparing to organize their own foreign affairs summit in August instead of traveling to Budapest for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's event.
Hungary, which holds the consecutive presidency of the EU Council, plans to hold the foreign affairs summit in Budapest on August 28-29, which would be an excellent opportunity for Viktor Orbán to try to shape the bloc's foreign policy agenda, and for Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó to step into the spotlight, Politico wrote. .
But after Orbán blocked aid to Ukraine and made "self-appointed peace visits" to Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, which he did not coordinate with the EU's 26 other national leaders, many foreign ministers are currently trying to avoid becoming an accessory to a - as they put it – "another Orbán propaganda show".
The head of the EU's foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, will convene the ministers for an "official" foreign affairs meeting at the same time as the Orbán summit, said three EU diplomats with direct knowledge of the plan, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the move.
This takes place after Hungary's EU representative, Bálint Ódor, was harshly criticized by his colleagues at the meeting held earlier this month, and Slovakia was the only country that did not join the queue. By boycotting the foreign affairs summit, the ministers hope to limit Hungary's "trolling".
If there is an official foreign affairs conference organized by the High Representative on the same day, the ministers will not be able to go to Budapest, said one of the diplomats.
Another added that by boycotting the Budapest meeting, the other foreign ministers "wanted to send a clear signal that Hungary does not speak on behalf of the EU."
Even before the Russian-Ukrainian war, the tension between the EU and Hungary had been growing for years, the portal reminds, according to which, under Orbán, the country retreated from democratic norms and the rule of law, and disrupted the smooth functioning of the EU by preventing the adoption of laws or various prevented financing in order to obtain concessions in related areas.
According to Politico, the ministers of other EU countries were willing to turn away from Hungary, since only seven ministers from other countries showed up at the Hungarian presidency's first meeting on industrial policy held in Budapest. Not a single commissioner attended.
Boycotting the event, which would serve as an introduction to the world stage for the country holding the presidency, could be a good way to take the wind out of Orbán's sails, Politico believes.
According to the paper, a diplomat joked that "unfortunately" his country will not be able to participate in Orbán's event if Borrell organizes a counter event. The plan has already been informally discussed with several EU countries, including France and Germany.
On Wednesday, Borrell's team will present the plan to the EU's 27 permanent representatives.
Cover photo: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
Source: MTI/Prime Minister's Press Office/Zoltán Fischer
