EU Commissioners boycott meetings in Hungary over Orbán's trips to Moscow and Beijing
Photo: Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary (Getty Images)
European commissioners, in protest against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's diplomatic actions, will refrain from participating in informal meetings of EU ministers in Budapest, according to Eric Mamer, spokesperson for the European Commission.
According to him, senior officials of the European Commission will be sent to the informal ministers' meetings in Budapest instead of commissioners. He clarified that the reason for this decision was “recent developments marking the start of the Hungarian Presidency”.
European commissioners will also skip the traditional visit to the country that has commenced its EU presidency.
This follows Sweden, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania deciding to skip informal meetings during Hungary's presidency.
Orbán's visits
Earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán attempted to mediate between Ukraine and Russia. Initially, he traveled to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, then went to Moscow and Beijing.
In Ukraine, Russia, and China, the Hungarian leader discussed Russia's war against Ukraine.
As President Zelenskyy stated today, July 15, after Orbán's visits, there was a serious conversation at the NATO-Ukraine Council.
