From July to the end of the year, Hungary is presiding over the EU Council. The beginning of its presidency was marked by the so-called “peace mission” of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Within the EU, concerns are growing about the role Orban is assigning to himself in this mission, as he represents only his own country.
Slogan Stolen from Trump
For its presidency slogan, Hungary chose a slogan reminiscent of Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, which he used to win the 2016 US presidential elections. The former American President had the best publicists working for him, so Hungary decided to simply capitalize on what had worked well for him at the time.
Like Trump, Viktor Orban wants to “make Europe great again,” not America. Hungary’s ambassador to the EU, Balint Odor, dismissed the similarity of slogans and stated that the idea is that EU member states are stronger together than individually.
European Traveler
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban began his presidency of the EU Council with an ambitious “peace tour.” For the first time in 12 years, on July 2nd, Orban visited Kyiv and held a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The leaders discussed a range of important issues:
- trade;
- cross-border cooperation;
- infrastructure and energy.
Special attention was given to issues regarding national minorities, which Budapest actively cares for.
Orban also announced the opening of the first Ukrainian school in Hungary and mentioned that there will be “as many schools as needed.” During his visit to Kyiv, the Hungarian Prime Minister suggested to Zelensky to first cease fire, and then discuss peace agreements. “I asked the president to consider whether the fire could be stopped first and then the talks continued. This could accelerate the pace of the negotiations,” Orban said.
Main – to stop in time
However, Orban’s “peacekeeping mission” did not end there. Just three days after his visit to Kyiv, on July 5, he found himself in Moscow meeting with Putin. Zelensky noted that he was not aware of the Hungarian leader’s plans to visit Russia, and the EU was also unaware. Hungarian Minister for EU Affairs Janos Boka stated that Budapest is not obliged to report to EU member states on the prime minister’s trips.
During his visit to Moscow, Orban stated that he had come to hear Putin’s position. After three hours of talks, he acknowledged that “the positions of the parties are far apart.” Putin reminded that to end the war, it is necessary to completely occupy the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.
Europe’s Outrage
After handshakes in Moscow, Orban faced a wave of criticism from European leaders. He was accused of negotiating with Putin immediately after Hungary assumed the EU Council presidency. The Hungarian side claimed that it represented only the interests of its country and did not speak on behalf of the EU. However, on his social media, Orban used symbols of the Hungarian presidency in the EU Council. Putin also perceived him not only as the prime minister of Hungary but as the “presiding in the EU Council.”
President of the European Council Charles Michel emphasized that Hungary did not have a mandate to interact with Russia. “The Euro council has a clear position: Russia is an aggressor, Ukraine is a victim. No discussions about Ukraine can take place without Ukraine,” Charles Michel emphasized.
Read the first part of the article “Will Hungary’s Presidency of the EU Council be boycotted?” here: https://eaukraine.eu/politics/%d1%87%d0%b8-%d0%b1%d0%be%d0%b9%d0%ba%d0%be%d1%82%d1%83%d0%b2%d0%b0%d1%82%d0%b8%d0%d0%b3%d0%be-%d0%b3%d0%be%d0%bb%d0%be%d0%b2%d1%83%d0%b2%d0%b0%d0%bd%d0%b5-%d1%83%d0%b3%d0%be%d1%80/
