Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has expressed regret over the EU’s top diplomat’s “maneuvering” to disrupt a key policy meeting in Budapest.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell’s reported plan to undermine Hungary by organizing a foreign policy meeting at the same time as a similar gathering in Budapest is “regrettable” and immature, according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.
Hungary currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council and plans to host an informal foreign affairs summit in late August. However, Politico reported this week that Borrell intends to convene a “formal” ministerial meeting during the same period, effectively obliging top officials to attend.
This apparent attempt to overshadow the Budapest summit comes after numerous Western officials voiced their disapproval of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s recent tour of Russia, Ukraine, China, and the US, aimed at resolving the conflict between Moscow and Kiev. These officials described the trip as “irrelevant” and lacking Western support.
Addressing reporters on Friday, Szijjarto stated that he had not yet received a letter from Borrell inviting him to the purported Foreign Affairs Council meeting scheduled for August 28-29, adding that he had heard reports that his counterpart “tried to do some maneuvering.”
The minister said that this was not unexpected, as Borrell has overseen “the most unsuccessful period of European foreign policy” in the past five years.
“If he had sent a letter like that, I probably would have sent him a sand shovel back because this whole ‘I’m calling all my friends together, or you are calling them together’ is at the maturity level of a kindergartener,” Szijjarto stated.
The Hungarian diplomat called the need for such petty behavior “more regrettable than outrageous” at a time when the EU is dealing with “much bigger problems,” likely referring to the Ukraine conflict.
Szijjarto added that he was happy Borrell would be leaving his post soon. “Although I must tell you that… I have worked with three EU foreign policy high representatives, and each time one’s term expired I was sure that it couldn’t get worse, and I was always wrong,” he admitted.
Borrell is expected to be replaced by outgoing Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, known for her hawkish stance on Russia and her strong support for military aid to Ukraine. Budapest, on the other hand, has consistently called for a ceasefire, opposed arms shipments to Kiev, and denounced sanctions against Moscow as ineffective and harmful to the EU economy.