MEPs urge stripping Hungary of EU voting rights after Orbán's Russia, China visits

Politico reports on this development.

It is highlighted that 63 MEPs demanded the suspension of Hungary's voting rights in the EU Council, stating that "practice has shown that mere verbal condemnations of this situation have no effect."

In their letter, they addressed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and European Parliament chief Roberta Metsola, asserting that Viktor Orbán "has already caused significant damage by exploiting and abusing the role of the Council Presidency."

The signatories stress that Orbán "undertook several diplomatic visits, notably to visit Putin in Russia and Xi Jinping in China, during which he intentionally misrepresented his empowerments."

The MEPs also requested that their commissioners abstain from attending informal meetings with Hungarian ministers.

Background

On July 2, Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán arrived in Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. They discussed Ukraine's peace plan.

Later, rumors spread that Orbán planned to visit Moscow after Kyiv.

European Council President Charles Michel reminded that the EU presidency cannot interact with Russia on behalf of the bloc. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also responded to Orbán’s potential trip to Moscow.

On July 5, Orbán visited Moscow and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling for a ceasefire.

Orbán also attended the informal summit of Turkic states in Azerbaijan on July 5-6. EU High Representative Josep Borrell stated that Budapest doesn't represent EU interests in these interactions.

On July 7, reports emerged that Orbán aims to shift the West's focus to possible Ukraine-Russia negotiations but is undermining Ukraine's support from European allies.

On July 8, Orbán visited Beijing and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss steps to achieve peace in Ukraine. 

During the NATO summit, Orbán met with Turkish President Recep Erdogan and asked for support for his "peacekeeping mission" regarding the war in Ukraine.

On July 11, Orbán met with Donald Trump to discuss the "possibility of peace" for Ukraine.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan commented on Orbán's self-proclaimed "peacekeeping mission," saying Ukraine would be rightly concerned about any attempt to negotiate a peace deal without Kyiv's involvement.

It later emerged that EU foreign ministers planned to ignore Hungary by holding their own summit in August instead of attending Orban's event in Budapest.