EU wants to punish Orbán by boycotting Hungary's foreign policy summit

Hungary, which holds the presidency of the EU Council, plans to hold the foreign affairs summit in Budapest on August 28-29.

However, after the country’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán obstructed aid to Ukraine and unilaterally met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, many foreign ministers are seeking to avoid what they see as another of Orbán's propaganda shows.

According to three EU diplomats, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell will convene the ministers for a "formal" foreign affairs council simultaneously with Orbán's summit.

"If there’s a formal foreign affairs council, organized by the high representative [Borrell] the same day, the ministers won’t be able to go to Budapest," said one of the diplomats.

Another added that by boycotting the meeting in Budapest, other foreign ministers want to "send a clear signal that Hungary does not speak for the EU."

According to Politico, this plan has been informally discussed with several EU countries, including France and Germany. On Wednesday, Borrell's team will present the plan to the 27 EU permanent representatives.

Orbán's controversial contacts

On July 2, Orbán visited Kyiv, where he suggested that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cease resisting the Russian invasion, lay down arms, and agree to peace negotiations.

On July 5, Orbán traveled to Moscow, where he held talks with Putin.

Following this, the Hungarian prime minister embarked on his "peace mission" to China.

These trips were criticized in the EU as they were not coordinated, and Orbán was not authorized to speak on behalf of the entire bloc.

Hungary canceled the visit of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to Budapest because her Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto unexpectedly went with Orbán to meet Putin.