The German Foreign Office sees “massive land damage” as a result of Hungary’s secession. Neos demand this
End of rotating national presidencies. German chancellor Scholz insists: Orban acts as a representative of Hungary, not the EU.
Almost a week after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met with former US President Donald Trump. Orphan posted a photo of the meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The good news of the day: He’ll sort it out!”
Neos are calling for an end to rotating national chairmanships. “Handing over power to a national politician every six months weakens Europe. It prevents us from speaking with one voice and being accepted as equal partners globally,” said Helmut Brandstätter, NEO’s foreign policy spokesperson and MEP-designate.
Brandstatter called for the EU to unite and rally towards Orban, making it clear that “Orbán does not speak for the EU as a whole”. “In this situation, I expect clear words soon, especially from ÖVP Chancellor Nehhammer and ÖVP Foreign Minister Schallenberg. It is completely incomprehensible that these clear words have not yet come from the top of Austria’s government.
Baerbach: “Hungarian Individual Efforts”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbach spoke of “irritations” in the EU over the meeting. The EU foreign policy chief is responsible for foreign policy, he said on Thursday. “These are isolated Hungarian efforts, which we observe with great surprise and suspicion,” said a spokesman for the German Foreign Office. On these trips, Orbán speaks exclusively for himself, not as the current EU Council President.
Regarding the possible outcome, the spokesperson said: “We will have to see how the Hungarian Council Presidency continues. We are now on day 12. And it has already caused enormous damage to the land.” Wolfgang Buchner, a German deputy government spokesman, insisted that Prime Minister Orbán could travel anywhere. It didn’t matter. “What’s impossible is that he travels on land with the idea that he’s doing this on behalf of somebody. Of course there will be further debates on how to cope.
Heads of state remain silent
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday it was Orbán’s own decision, one he took with confidence. “He didn’t do us any favors with his visits, because he didn’t inform us in any way in advance and didn’t get the mandate,” Macron said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, “We will not allow him to be given the travel plans of the prime ministers of other countries (…)”. “It is important for everyone to be clear that the Hungarian prime minister is acting as such” and not within the scope of the tasks of the EU Council presidency, Scholz added.
At the NATO summit, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb insisted that “Viktor Orbán has no mandate to conduct any negotiations from within the alliance or from the EU”. Orban can only do this under his own name.
Orban and Trump: A friendly relationship
Orbán and Trump, two right-wing populists, have a very friendly relationship and already met in Florida in March. At the time, Orbán described his host as a “president of peace” while the American hailed the Hungarian as a “great leader”.
After the US election in November, Trump wants to go back to the White House for the Republicans and again in the race for the Democrats to make Joe Biden the president. Election campaigning is in full swing.
Orbán had already made headlines in the days leading up to the summit. As part of his state tour, staged as a “peace mission”, the head of government of the NATO country visited not only Russia, but also China and Ukraine.
Hungary caused a scandal at the recent NATO conference in Washington. At the end of the alliance summit, the Hungarian government accused NATO partners of double standards and failure to deal with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Foreign Minister Peter Szczyjardo represented Orbán, who left the summit early because of a meeting with Trump. (APA/Reuters)
