Michel halts visit to China due to Orban's threats over Ukraine's EU bid
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel (Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, will cut short his visit to Beijing as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatens to disrupt the EU leaders' summit scheduled for December, writes Politico.
It is reported that "Michel, who is traveling to China for the first in-person EU-China summit since 2019, “will return to Brussels to continue his discussions with leaders on a way forward".
Orban, in a letter dated December 4, called on Michel to remove discussions on Ukraine's accession from the agenda of the upcoming European Council summit.
"I respectfully urge you not to invite the European Council to decide on these matters in December as the obvious lack of consensus would inevitably lead to failure," wrote Orban.
Michel unable to negotiate with EU officials from China
The Prime Minister of Hungary vehemently opposes the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU after the European Commission approved the start of membership talks in November, threatening to veto the planned €50 billion aid package for Ukraine.
Michel will now return earlier from the Chinese capital after the first day of meetings on Thursday, partly because he does not have a secure phone line in Beijing to talk to EU leaders without China eavesdropping.
Negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU
A few weeks ago, the European Commission released a report recommending the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union. For these negotiations to begin, the unanimous agreement of all EU countries is required. The leaders of member states will discuss this issue at the summit scheduled for December 14-15.
Meanwhile, Hungary has openly stated its opposition to negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU.
Currently, according to media reports, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is trying to persuade European Council President Charles Michel not to raise the negotiation issue at the EU leaders' summit on December 14-15.
Today it became known that French President Emmanuel Macron has invited Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to meet with him in Paris at the end of this week to find a compromise on the issue of starting negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
