Today, the European Parliament launched harsh criticism of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for his meeting with the Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, in yet another international rebuke to Budapest’s so-called “peacekeeping mission” to Ukraine.
Strong criticism
Orbán has been criticized by European leaders for his recent surprise visits to Moscow and Beijing, where he met with the presidents of Russia and China without EU support.
Hungary took over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU this month.
Therefore, by the end of the year Budapest will be responsible for organizing EU meetings, but without authorizing Orbán to practice diplomacy on behalf of the 27 member states of the European Union.
“Implications for Hungary”
In its resolution, the European Parliament condemned Orban’s visit to Russia as a “flagrant violation of the EU Treaties and common foreign policy”. It also stresses that “this violation should have consequences for Hungary”.
The resolution was approved by a large majority: 495 “in favor”, 137 “against” and 47 abstentions.
It was not supported by MEPs from Tisza, Hungary’s centre-right opposition party. “We could not support a resolution that punishes Hungary for Viktor Orbán’s wrong policies,” he said in a statement.
“Orban met with Putin to smear the EU, proclaim that it has a peace plan that no one knows about and promote Russian expansionism,” said Irace García Pérez, head of the Eurogroup of Socialists and Democrats.
The Hungarian government – which still maintains close ties with Russia after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 – defended Prime Minister Orbán’s trips to Moscow and Beijing. “It is unacceptable to stigmatize a country for promoting diplomatic solutions,” said Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó.
AMP Source