Orban the globetrotter goes to Xi in China. The EU thinks about countermeasures –

Edward Romagnoli

July 09, 2024

Viktor Orban flies to China to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Hungarian Prime Minister seems to have settled perfectly into the role of President of the Council of the European Union and these six months of office will bring some surprises. Or perhaps it would be better to say “more surprises” given that since he took office he has already placed three. The first was when he chose to participate, on 5 and 6 July, in the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Shusha. A participation that the High Representative for Foreign Policy of the EU Josep Borrell stigmatized: “The participation of the Hungarian Prime Minister took place in the context of bilateral relations between Hungary and this organization. Hungary has not received any mandate from the Council of the EU”. Also because the EU “rejects the attempts of the Organization of Turkic States to legitimize the Turkish Cypriot secessionist entity, the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”. No sooner had the episode been filed away than Orban flew to Russia to see Putin, deciding to break Brussels’ policy of partial isolation of the Kremlin. And even though the Tsar made it clear that he did not want to budge on Ukraine, the prime minister of Budapest continued to claim that he was on a peace mission. In reality, what is at stake are above all gas imports from Moscow and trade ties with Russia in non-sanctioned sectors.

Now the visit to Beijing by Xi Jinping for a “lone” peace mission for Ukraine; at least that’s how the current president of the Council of the European Union presented it. “The relations between the two blocs are of strategic importance and have a global impact. For this reason they must work together to maintain a stable and healthy development of relations and to respond together to global challenges” underlined the Chinese president. Words to which Orban responded by underlining how “China is a key power in creating the conditions for peace between Russia and the Union”. The umpteenth breach of the European protocol so much so that the European Parliament has requested the activation of the procedure according to Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union, i.e. the mechanism that allows the suspension of EU membership rights in the event of a “serious and persistent” violation of the founding principles of the Union by a member country. At the moment, only the traditional visit of the European Commission to the rotating presidency, scheduled for Budapest “immediately following the summer break”, is “seriously” in doubt, explained the spokesperson of the EU executive, Eric Mamer.

According to some European sources, the Hungarian leader has been deliberately ambiguous in his missions abroad by displaying the presidency logo during communications and for this reason the ambassadors will ask their Hungarian colleague for clarifications during tomorrow’s Coreper. Criticism has also come from Italy with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani who stigmatized the visits of the Hungarian globetrotter: “No one entrusted him with the task of going to Moscow and Beijing in the name and on behalf of the other countries of the Union”. If anyone thinks that the controversies can stop him, they don’t know that the next visit is already scheduled: today in Washington for the NATO summit.