International

European Commission boycotts Hungarian presidency over Orbán's trips to Moscow and Beijing

The European Commission has decided to boycott Hungary's six-month Presidency of the Council of the European Union, in response to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's controversial visits to Moscow and Beijing, seen as an affront to the political unity of the European bloc, reports Euronews.

The European Commission has decided to boycott Hungary's six-month presidency of the EU Council in response to Viktor Orbán's controversial trips to Moscow and Beijing, widely seen as an affront to the bloc's political unity.

"In light of recent developments marking the start of the Hungarian Presidency, the President (Ursula von der Leyen) has decided that the European Commission will be represented at senior civil servant level only during informal meetings of the Council," the executive's chief spokesperson, Eric Mamer, announced on Monday evening.

"The College visit to the Presidency will not take place," he added, confirming that the major event that marks the start of each rotating presidency has been called off.

During his recent visit to Moscow, Orbán met with President Vladimir Putin, a man wanted for war crimes, to discuss the war in Ukraine and, in the premier's words, "start a dialogue on the shortest road to peace." Days later, Russian troops bombed a children's hospital in Kyiv.

In Beijing, Orbán praised the "Chinese peace plan" of President Xi Jinping, which the EU has dismissed for making a selective interpretation of international law and blurring the line between the aggressor and the aggressed. "China is the only world power that has been clearly committed to peace since the beginning," he said, defying Western concerns that Beijing is propping up Russia's war economy.

Rodica Mazur

Rodica Mazur

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