Hungary Stripped Of EU Meeting Rights Over Ukraine Stance

The European Union has stripped Hungary of the right to host the next meeting of Foreign and Defence ministers over its stance on the war in Ukraine.

The move follows weeks after Hungary assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, and amid anger over a meeting Prime Minister Viktor Orban held with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier this month.

European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borell, said Hungary’s actions should have consequences but Hungary described the move as “completely childish”.

Every six months, under each new council presidency, the EU’s foreign and defence ministers hold informal meetings to discuss the biggest global issues facing the bloc.

The next set of meetings will take place on 28-30 August and were to be held in Budapest, but on Monday Borrell announced they would instead take place in Brussels.

Citing comments made after the meeting with Putin in which Orban accused the EU of having a “pro-war policy”, Borrell told reporters: “If you want to talk about the war party, talk about Putin.

Of the 26 other countries in the EU, only Slovakia has backed Hungary in the dispute. However, Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel, told reporters that he would go to Budapest because a boycott would be “nonsense”.

Bettel felt that it was better to tell the Hungarians the EU was unhappy with their actions as “ignoring or not choosing dialogue would be a mistake”. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski proposed that the August meeting should take place in western Ukraine, but that idea was blocked by Budapest.

Responding to Borrell’s decision, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wrote on Facebook: “What a fantastic response they have come up with.

Orban’s meeting with Putin came as part of what he described as a “peace mission” – launched days after Hungary assumed the council presidency.