BRUSSELS (AP) — Senior government ministers from Ireland, Luxembourg and Belgium have openly criticized Hungary on Tuesday, raising questions about whether Prime Minister Vitkor Orbán’s outspokenly nationalist cabinet respects the values and standards of the European Union.
Hungary took over the rotating presidency of the 27-nation bloc in July. Orbán immediately made a surprise trip to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, angering several EU colleagues, who insisted the Hungarian leader did not represent them.
“I will also ask my colleague (European Minister János Bóka) if he is planning a trip to Moscow tomorrow, because this seems to be a habit for Hungarian politicians,” Luxembourg Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel said at a meeting in Budapest.
Beyond its ties with Russia, Orbán’s government has irritated its EU partners by promoting hostility toward Russia. migrants And LGBTQ+ rightsand by control public mediaMillions of euros in EU funds have also been released. frozen due to concerns about the decline of democracy in Hungary.
Bettel, his Belgian counterpart Hadja Lahbib and Irish European Affairs Minister Jennifer Carroll McNeill said they had held joint meetings with members of the Hungarian media, civil society and LGBTQ+ representatives ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, chaired by Bóka.
“This is extremely important to us in Ireland: human rights, fundamental freedoms, the rule of law,” said Carroll McNeill. “I’m pleased to be here with my colleagues to discuss further the rule of law and the concerns that we have and how they relate to the future of Europe.”
The ministers made their remarks live to a Hungarian TV camera, without being prompted by reporters. It was an unusual and potentially embarrassing public display for Hungary, as EU member states rarely criticise each other in public.
Lahbib said she would send a message that “the Hungarian presidency must be ambitious, that it must work for unification and for building bridges between the 27 member states of the European Union.” She urged Budapest to take its veto on EU funds assist in the supply of weapons to Ukraine.
Many EU countries have sent low-ranking officials to meetings hosted by Hungary in protest at Hungary’s behavior. Last week, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also used his powers to move a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers from Budapest to Brussels.
During Tuesday’s meeting, matters were taken to a new level.
“For me it was important to be in Budapest today. You know, big questions: are we coming, are we not coming, should we come, is it right to come, is it better to boycott,” Bettel mused. “Not being here would be a mistake, I think. But being here also means being loud.”
Hungary’s mandate at the helm of the EU ends on December 31.
