Banning Hungary due to relations with China and Russia

Some senior officials of the European Union accused Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of abusing the rotating presidency of this union and while boycotting an informal meeting in this country, they sent their lower level officials to it.

According to the Associated Press, officials are angry with Orban’s relations with Russia and China and his unexpected trips to these two countries. These trips, described by Orban as a “mission of peace”, were made earlier this month in order to end the war in Ukraine. 

In response to this move, some EU countries, including Sweden and Finland, as well as the EU Commission, announced that their top officials would boycott the meetings in Budapest and send lower-level civil servants instead. However, not all members of the union had the same answers; Because the energy ministers of Austria, Belgium and Bulgaria took part in the informal meeting on energy that was held today in the capital of Hungary. 

Meanwhile, a group of 63 EU parliamentarians wrote a letter to top EU officials on Monday asking them to strip Hungary of its voting rights due to Orban’s recent trips to China and Russia. In a letter addressed to European Council President von der Leyen and European Parliament President Charles Michel, it is stated that Orban intends to “abuse the rotating presidency of the European Union” and by traveling to China and Russia in order to “actively weaken “Common positions of the European Union” has worked. 

It should be said that Hungary, which has assumed the rotating presidency of the European Union since the beginning of July, says that it intends to end the war in Ukraine. In this regard, the Prime Minister of this country announced yesterday that he has presented a peace plan with “realistic goals and deadlines” to the leaders of the European Union.

Translator: Zahra Najafi