The top Austrian diplomat expressed opposition to a boycott of Hungary’s EU Council presidency under the leadership of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, in comments to the Austrian news agency APA on Monday, cautioned against getting worked up about Orbán’s presidency because it would “most likely benefit Orbán himself.
Hungary currently holds the six-month rotating presidency of the EU Council.
Orbán has been criticized by other EU states for his trips to Moscow and Beijing, as well as to see U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Hungary took over the rotating role July 1, and since then Orban has visited Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, China, and the United States on a world tour he’s touted as a “peace mission” aimed at brokering an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. That angered many leaders in the EU, who said they had not been informed in advance of Orban’s plans.
The EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell has announced that an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers planned for the end of August will be moved from Budapest to Brussels.
Schallenberg said that he took note of Borrell’s move, but that the majority of EU foreign ministers were against it. He said it was important not to remain silent about Orbán’s “ego trips.”
However, he noted that giving Orbán too much attention exaggerates his influence as the prime minister of a medium-sized country.
Schallenberg emphasized that Hungary participates in many EU decisions and that Orbán would ultimately adhere to the rules, as failing to do so would result in a “completely failed EU Council presidency.”
