By Canadian Press

Top EU leaders will boycott meetings hosted by Hungary’s Orban after his outreach to Russia, China

Jul 15, 2024 | 12:44 PM

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Top EU officials will boycott informal meetings hosted by Hungary while the country has the EU’s rotating presidency, after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held a series of meetings with foreign leaders that angered European partners, the European Commission said Monday.

The highly unusual decision to have the European Commission president and other top officials of the body boycott the meetings was made ‘’in light of recent developments marking the start of the Hungarian (EU) presidency,” commission spokesperson Eric Mamer posted Monday on X.

Hungary took over the rotating role July 1, and since then Orban has visited Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, China, and the United States on a world tour he’s touted as “peace mission” aimed at brokering an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. His government is friendly with Russia and has gone against the policy of most EU countries in supporting Ukraine.

The decision by the European Commission applies to informal meetings hosted by Hungary. Senior civil servants will attend instead of top officials like the European Commission president, currently Ursula von der Leyen.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has sent a letter to the heads of other European Union countries briefing them on a recent set of foreign visits he made that angered other leaders in the bloc, Orbán’s political director said Monday.

Orbán this month visited Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, China, and the United States on a world tour he’s touted as “peace mission” aimed at brokering an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. His government has gone against the policy of most EU countries by refusing to supply Kyiv with weapons to deter Russia’s invasion and by threatening to block financial assistance to the war-ravaged country.

The long-serving prime minister’s visits to Moscow and Beijing, where he held talks with leaders Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, angered his EU counterparts, who said they had not been informed in advance of Orbán’s plans. They rushed to clarify that Orbán — whose country is currently filling the bloc’s six-month rotating presidency — was not acting on behalf of the EU.

In an interview with Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet on Monday, Orbán’s political director said the prime minister had briefed the leaders of other EU countries “in writing about the negotiations, the experiences of the first phase of the peace mission and the Hungarian proposals.”

“If Europe wants peace and wants to have a decisive say in settling the war and ending the bloodshed, it must now work out and implement a change of direction,” said Balázs Orbán, who is not related to the premier. “A realistic assessment of the situation, realistic goals and the right timing — that’s our approach.”

Hungary’s government has long argued for an immediate cease-fire and peace negotiations in the conflict in Ukraine, but has not outlined what such moves might mean for the country’s territorial integrity and future security. It has exhibited an adversarial posture toward Ukraine while maintaining close ties to Moscow, even after its full-scale invasion in Feb. 2022.

Orbán’s critics have accused him of acting against the unity and interests of the EU and NATO, of which Hungary is a member, and of pursuing an “appeasement” strategy concerning Russia’s aggression.

Following Orbán’s unannounced trip to Moscow for talks with Putin on July 5 — the first such visit from an EU head of state or government in more than two years — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused him of trying to mollify the Russian leader, writing on X: “Appeasement will not stop Putin. Only unity and determination will pave the path to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”

Orbán’s unannounced meetings, which included a visit with former U.S. President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate last week, have led some governments to consider boycotting or limiting participation in a series of upcoming informal meetings in Budapest related to the rotating EU presidency.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said last week that ministers from his country, along with Finland and the Baltic countries, would not participate in such meetings this summer, while other reports suggest a planned summit of foreign ministers in Budapest in late August could be disrupted by an EU-wide boycott.

Justin Spike, The Associated Press