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full screen The EU’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell is sharply critical of Hungary. Stock photo. Photo: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP/TT
Special talks await about Hungary’s actions between the foreign ministers of the EU countries today.
The foreign minister threatens to cancel meetings in Budapest.
The agenda at today’s regular meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels includes, among other things, remote conversations with Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, talks about the Middle East and a lunch with the head of the European Investment Bank, Nadia Calviño.
But Foreign Minister Josep Borrell is also flagging for a special meeting within the meeting, where only the ministers and no other civil servants or diplomats may attend.
The subject: the way Hungary has acted since it took over the presidency of the Council of Ministers on 1 July. Criticism has been strong from most of the rest of the EU against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s “peace trips” to Russia and China, but also against Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, who in a speech in the UN Security Council accused the EU of “pushing the war”.
– This is completely unacceptable. We will discuss how the member states view this opinion from a country that is currently holding the presidency. The EU is not pushing for war, says Borrell on his way into the meeting.
One result could be that the foreign minister’s meeting in Budapest, which Hungary is expected to host at the end of August, will be completely moved to Brussels.
– This is up to me. It is the foreign minister who invites to council meetings. So after listening to all of them (the ministers) I have to make a decision, says Borrell.