(HorizonPost.com) – Josep Borrell, the European Union’s Minister of Foreign Affairs on Monday removed Hungary from its role as the host of an upcoming meeting of EU foreign ministers due to widespread anger among the member nations over Budapest’s overtures to Moscow.
Borrell told reporters in Brussels following the final meeting of EU foreign ministers before they break for summer that the planned August meeting in Budapest would be held in Brussels instead to send a signal of disapproval to Prime Minister Viktor Orban for his decision to visit Moscow and Beijing without the backing of the EU.
Borrell said the location change was also prompted by Orban’s government recently branding EU policy on Ukraine as “pro-war.”
Borrell said the European Union had “to send a signal,” even if it was only a symbolic one.
The Hungarian Prime Minister began his peace mission just days after his country assumed the EU’s rotating presidency on July 1. His self-styled mission also included visiting Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump at his estate in Mar-a-Lago.
During the final meeting before the summer break, many of the EU foreign ministers directed the condemnations to Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.
Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel of Portugal said the decision to strip Hungary of its hosting duties was a clear message that “left no room for doubt.”
Some of Hungary’s EU partners have criticized the Orban government for its close relations with Moscow, which they believe has undermined the EU’s efforts to politically and diplomatically isolate Russia over its war in Ukraine.
Budapest has argued that it is trying to achieve peace in the war-torn country as soon as possible.
Borrell told reporters that it was Russian President Vladimir Putin whom Hungary should brand “pro-war” and not the EU, adding that if Orban wanted to “talk about the war party,” he should “talk about Putin.”
Foreign Minister Szijjarto dismissed Borrell’s decision as “childish,” describing the meeting as “a kindergarten-level debate.”
A meeting of EU foreign ministers is one of the most prestigious and high-profile events a country can host while holding the EU’s rotating presidency. Borrell told reporters that he opted to relocate the August meeting to Brussels since the majority of foreign ministers wanted to send a signal to Budapest.
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