Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen has stated that Budapest’s viewpoints do not align with the bloc’s official stance.
The EU may not be the “right reference group” for Hungary, considering the noticeable differences in perspectives between Budapest and the bloc, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen has suggested. She accused Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban of conveying the impression that he was representing the EU during his recent visits to Russia and China to discuss the Ukraine conflict.
Speaking after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, Valtonen emphasized that Hungary – which currently holds the rotating EU presidency – is not entitled to represent the 27-nation bloc as its foreign policy viewpoints “do not correspond to the official line of the union.”
“Of course, it is up to the individual country to do so,” Valtonen told the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper. “But at some point, it may be worth asking whether the European Union is the right reference group if the ideas differ so fundamentally from our common values.”
Budapest assumed the rotating presidency of the EU Council at the beginning of July. The body determines the bloc’s overall political direction and priorities. Hungarian Prime Minister Orban then launched what he called a Ukraine “peace mission,” aiming to find a solution to the conflict by holding discussions with its “five main actors” – Ukraine, Russia, China, the EU, and the US.
As part of the mission, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, eliciting the anger of EU leaders. Orban emphasized that he does not need a mandate from Brussels to promote peace and that his discussions cannot be considered official talks.
The European Parliament last week censured Orban’s visits, particularly to Moscow, describing them as “a blatant violation of the EU’s treaties and common foreign policy.”
The EU has also been infuriated by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto’s speeches to the UN Security Council, in which he has accused the bloc of pursuing a “pro-war policy” with its military and financial support for Ukraine.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has criticized Szijjarto by declaring that “the European Union is not at war,” and has called for a discussion on “what to do with Hungary’s presidency of the EU Council in the next few months.”
In a rebuke of Orban’s solo diplomatic efforts on Ukraine, the EU’s next informal meeting of foreign and defense ministers will occur in Brussels instead of Budapest, Borrell said on Monday. He labeled the change of venue “a signal’ to Hungary.
Moscow has stated that the EU’s criticism of Orban over his Ukraine peace initiative demonstrates that Brussels has resolved to support Ukraine militarily, and that its pro-war policies will not change. Budapest is scheduled to maintain the EU presidency until January 1, 2025, when it will pass to Poland.