The European Union has decided to move a key strategic meeting scheduled for next month from Budapest to Brussels. This decision comes in response to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s recent diplomatic initiatives aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Orbán’s trips to Moscow and Beijing, which he presented as a “peace mission,” have been met with widespread criticism from his EU counterparts. They argue that Orbán’s actions undermine the bloc’s unified support for Ukraine and its efforts to hold Russia accountable for its invasion.
“We have to send a signal, even if it is a symbolic signal,” said EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, explaining the decision to relocate the meeting.
Hungary currently holds the rotating EU presidency and had initially planned to host the Gymnich meeting in late August. However, the gathering will now take place in Brussels in September. Borrell emphasized that while there was a broad consensus on the need to address Hungary’s recent actions, there was disagreement within the EU regarding the specific location of the meeting.
Orbán’s government has been a vocal outlier in the EU’s response to the war in Ukraine. Budapest has opposed sanctions on Russia and has been reluctant to provide military aid to Kyiv. Orbán’s stance has led to growing political isolation within the EU.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who has defended Orbán’s actions, labeled the decision to move the meeting a “fantastic revenge.” He also criticized what he called a “concerted, hysterical, often mocking series of attacks” on Orbán’s recent trips to Russia and China.
Szijjártó noted that only Slovakia’s deputy foreign minister had publicly expressed support for Hungary’s “peace mission.” However, he signaled that Hungary would still attend the meeting even if it were moved to Brussels.
Orbán’s meetings with Putin and Xi have been seen as an attempt to position himself as a mediator in the Ukraine conflict. However, other EU leaders have insisted that Orbán was not speaking on behalf of the bloc during these meetings. In response, several EU countries and the European Commission have announced that their top officials would boycott informal meetings hosted by Hungary and send civil servants instead.
Hungary took over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU on July 1st. Since then, Orbán has embarked on a series of diplomatic trips to Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, and China, which he has dubbed a “peace mission.” Orbán’s critics accuse him of acting against the interests of the EU and NATO, of which Hungary is a member, and of pursuing a policy of appeasement towards Russia.