European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has instructed commissioners not to go to Hungary for informal Council meetings, following actions seen as provocative in the early days of the EU's Hungarian presidency.
"In light of recent developments marking the start of the Hungarian Presidency, the (EU Commission) President has decided that (the Commission) will be represented at senior civil servant level only during informal meetings of the Council," Eric Mamer, spokesman for the European Commission president, said on X on Monday.
The semi-annual visit to the presidency of the Council of the EU by the Commission’s college has also been cancelled, he added.
The moves come after Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, incited anger and confusion within the EU with his unsanctioned “peace-initiative” visit to Vladimir Putin in early July. His subsequent trips to China, and his attendance of the summit of Turkic States also contradicted European diplomatic messaging.
Since 1 July, Hungary holds the six-month presidency of the EU Council, a position that handles legislative coordination, but does not give the right to express views on behalf of Europe on the international stage.
Von der Leyen’s decision was made three days before her candidacy for re-election is put to a vote in the European Parliament - on Thursday in Strasbourg. In the meantime, Orban has rallied around a dozen nationalist and far-right parties to form the third largest parliamentary group within the parliament.
