Now it’s Josep Borrell’s turn. The EU’s foreign policy chief will summon ministers to a “formal” foreign affairs council at the same time as Orban’s summit, according to three EU diplomats with direct knowledge of the plan who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the move.
This comes after Hungary’s EU envoy, Balint Odor, was heavily criticised by his colleagues at a meeting earlier this month, with Slovakia the only country not to take the floor. By boycotting the foreign affairs summit, the ministers hope to limit Hungary’s provocations.
If there is a formal foreign affairs council, organized by the High Representative [Borrell] “On the same day, the ministers will not be able to go to Budapest,” said one diplomat.
Another added that by boycotting the Budapest meeting, the other foreign ministers wanted to “send a clear signal that Hungary does not speak for the European Union.”
Even before the Russia-Ukraine war, tensions between the EU and Hungary had been growing for years. Under Orbán, the country has been backsliding on democratic norms and the rule of law, as well as disrupting the smooth functioning of the EU by blocking laws or funding in order to extract concessions in unrelated areas.
Foreign ministers from other EU countries have shown a willingness to ignore Hungary. At the first meeting of the Hungarian presidency, hosted in Budapest to discuss industrial policy, only seven ministers from other countries attended. No commissioner was present either.
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