The EU Council Presidency, which rotates every six months, is primarily a technical role: the presiding member state is responsible for the smooth operation of summits and ensuring that all planned topics are addressed. The presiding country can also introduce its own agenda items. However, Council President Orban is currently significantly expanding his role. He is now on what he calls a “peace mission” regarding the Russian war of aggression once morest Ukraine.
He unexpectedly traveled to Kyiv, Moscow, and Beijing, with the next stop being the NATO summit in Washington. In Ukraine, he urged President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to quickly reach a ceasefire with Russia. In Moscow, he held “open talks” with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin regarding the “nuances” of peace proposals. Putin publicly thanked Orban for his efforts to improve relations between Russia and Europe. However, he added that only Russia knows the right way to resolve the conflict, speaking next to his European friend.
EU and NATO allies reacted with shock and strongly criticized Orban. The general consensus was that he does not represent the institutions. Ukraine was also discussed in China on Monday, where Orban met President Xi Jinping. “Peace Mission 3.0 #Beijing,” he wrote on X (Twitter). Further surprise visits may follow.
Without prior agreement
“Orban is acting unilaterally, without prior consultation with other EU member states or official EU representatives,” political scientist Barlai told ORF.at. “Such solo actions can undermine the coherence and unity of EU foreign policy and signal a lack of solidarity and coordination within the EU, which are particularly important for a Council Presidency. His ceasefire proposal can be understood as implicit recognition and legitimization of Russia, which is met with great skepticism by Russia’s European neighbors.”
Heavy attacks on Ukraine
Russia launched its heaviest wave of attacks on Ukraine in a long time on Monday. Meanwhile, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban is travelling to China on a “peace mission”.
Hungary has been a source of tension in Europe for years, especially in terms of foreign policy and the rule of law. Repressive judicial reforms in the country, the suppression of free media and Orban’s overt support for Russia’s interests have repeatedly led to conflicts with Brussels and hampered EU support for Ukraine. Hungary, like Austria, continues to import significant amounts of oil and gas from Russia.
China also goes once morest the flow
Orban’s affinity for Russia’s ally China, which is making substantial investments in Hungary under his leadership, is also a point of contention among EU partners. In May, Budapest was one of the few stops on Xi’s European trip, where a “strategic partnership” was announced. While the EU Commission and many member states are currently trying to reduce economic dependence on China and address market distortions, Orban appears to be welcoming Chinese-funded influences.
Cards reshuffled in EU Parliament
The European Parliament had unsuccessfully demanded that Orban not be given the EU Council Presidency and warned once morest further “blackmail” and “blockades”. Even now, the issue doesn’t seem to be resolved, as the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (“SZ”) reported on Monday. According to the report, EU ambassadors intend to issue “a clear message” to their Hungarian counterparts at a meeting on Wednesday. Diplomats told the newspaper that they are not yet prepared to prematurely withdraw the Council Presidency from Hungary. But the meeting serves as a “warning shot”.
Currently, EU military aid to Kyiv amounting to 6.5 billion euros is on hold due to Hungary’s veto. Government members in Budapest have made it clear that Orban wants to use this to once once more secure billions in subsidies for his country, which the EU has frozen due to rule of law deficiencies in Hungary.
Schaidreiter on the right-wing faction
Raffaela Schaidreiter analyses what role the new right-wing group will play in the EU Parliament.
However, the EU Parliament now looks different than it did before – following the EU elections in June. Notably, right-of-center forces gained ground. The far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) group, which previously included the FPÖ and Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN), was able to increase its seats from 49 to 58. The second right-wing group, the ECR, was previously home to the Polish PiS, the Spanish Vox and the post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia of Giorgia Meloni, among others.
Together, the two groups now have 131 seats, but their thematic differences always prevented a merger. Poland’s PiS and Orban’s FIDESZ were unable to agree on a common approach, particularly regarding the war in Ukraine, as historical reasons prevented skepticism towards Russia from fading in Poland.
“Patriots” from the far right
But now Orban is forming his own group: alongside the Rassemblement National, the Italian Lega, the Czech ANO, Vox, the far-right Danish People’s Party, the Belgian Vlaams Belang, the Party for Freedom of the Dutchman Geert Wilders, and the FPÖ, FIDESZ aims to become the third strongest force in the newly elected European Parliament with the Patriots for Europe group – and thus stronger than the ECR group. The previous ID will be dissolved. Group status grants several privileges, such as the allocation of important committee positions, increased funding, and the right to receive grants for political foundations.
A right-wing majority is now more likely on many European issues, especially regarding the war in Ukraine. Orban not only repeatedly blocks financial and other aid for Kyiv. He also vehemently opposes Ukraine’s proposed accession to the EU.
Orban has already announced that none of the 35 accession chapters will be opened during Hungary’s Council Presidency – despite claiming it will be the most expansionist ever. However, this applies more to Orban’s allies in the Western Balkans. “Hungary wants to make progress in the accession negotiations with Serbia, Montenegro, Georgia, Bosnia and Moldova and also push forward the expansion of the Schengen area to include Romania and Bulgaria,” said Barlai.
Strong narrative in Hungary
There are several reasons why Orban is once once more alienating his EU partners with his “peace mission” visits, says Barlai. “Due to his international isolation and his tarnished image, Orban is using the opportunity and international attention to expand his scope for action and present himself as a European statesman who is bringing peace back to Europe,” says the expert.
“This serves to gain future allies, such as the new EP group Patriots for Europe, and to bolster his support in Hungary, where the peace narrative resonates.” Orban’s trips serve “less the purpose of actual peace, but rather his political agenda and the expansion of his power.”
The EU Council Presidency, which changes every six months, is mainly a technical task: the respective member state is responsible for the smooth running of the summits and for ensuring that all planned topics can be dealt with. The presiding country can also put its own topics on the agenda. However, Council President Orban is currently greatly expanding his scope for action. He is currently on what he calls a “peace mission” regarding the Russian war of aggression once morest Ukraine.
He traveled – each time unexpectedly – to Kiev, Moscow and Beijing, and the next stop is the NATO summit in Washington. In Ukraine, he called on President Volodymyr Zelenskyj to quickly reach a ceasefire with Russia. In Moscow, he held “open talks” with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin regarding the “nuances” of peace proposals. Putin publicly thanked Orban for trying to improve relations between Russia and Europe. But only Russia knows the right way to resolve the conflict, Putin said next to his friend from Europe.
The allies in the EU and NATO reacted with horror and strongly criticized Orban. The general feeling was that he does not speak for the institutions. Ukraine was also discussed in China on Monday, where Orban met President Xi Jinping. “Peace Mission 3.0 #Beijing,” he wrote on X (Twitter). Further surprise visits might follow.
Without prior agreement
“Orban is acting unilaterally, without prior consultation with other EU member states or official EU representatives,” political scientist Barlai told ORF.at. “Such solo actions can undermine the coherence and unity of EU foreign policy and signal a lack of solidarity and coordination within the EU, which are particularly important for a Council Presidency. His ceasefire proposal can be understood as implicit recognition and legitimization of Russia, which is received with great skepticism by Russia’s European neighbors.”
Heavy attacks on Ukraine
Russia launched its heaviest wave of attacks on Ukraine in a long time on Monday. Meanwhile, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban is travelling to China on a “peace mission”.
Hungary has been a thorn in Europe for years, especially in terms of foreign policy and the rule of law. Repressive judicial reforms in the country, the suppression of free media and Orban’s blatant commitment to Russia’s interests have repeatedly led to conflicts with Brussels and a paralysis of the EU’s support for Ukraine. Hungary, like Austria, continues to import oil and gas from Russia on a large scale.
China also goes once morest the flow
Orban’s sympathies for Russia’s ally China, which is making huge investments in Hungary under his aegis, are also a thorn in the side of the EU partners. In May, Budapest was one of the few stops on Xi’s European trip, where a “strategic partnership” was announced. While the EU Commission and many member states are currently trying to reduce economic dependence on China and combat market distortions, Orban seems to want to open the door to Chinese-funded influences.
Cards reshuffled in EU Parliament
The European Parliament had demanded in vain that Orban not be given the EU Council Presidency and warned once morest further “blackmail” and “blockades”. Even now, the issue does not seem to be off the table, as the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (“SZ”) reported on Monday. According to the report, the EU ambassadors want to give their Hungarian counterparts “a clear message” at a meeting on Wednesday. Diplomats told the newspaper that they are not yet ready to withdraw the Council Presidency from Hungary prematurely. But the meeting serves as a “warning shot”.
Currently, EU military aid to Kyiv amounting to 6.5 billion euros is on hold due to Hungary’s veto. Government members in Budapest have made it clear that Orban wants to use this to once once more release billions in subsidies for his country, which the EU has frozen due to deficiencies in the rule of law in Hungary.
Schaidreiter on the right-wing faction
Raffaela Schaidreiter analyses what role the new right-wing group will play in the EU Parliament.
However, the EU Parliament now looks different than it did before – following the EU elections in June. Above all, forces to the right of centre gained ground. The far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) group, which previously also includes the FPÖ and Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN), was able to increase its seats from 49 to 58. The second right-wing group, the ECR, was previously home to the Polish PiS, the Spanish Vox and the post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia of Giorgia Meloni, among others.
Together, the two groups now have 131 seats, but the thematic differences were always too great for a merger. Poland’s PiS and Orban’s FIDESZ were unable to find a common line, particularly with regard to the war in Ukraine, because for historical reasons, skepticism towards Russia never waned in Poland.
“Patriots” from the far right
But now Orban is founding his own group: together with the Rassemblement National, the Italian Lega, the Czech ANO, Vox, the far-right Danish People’s Party, the Belgian Vlaams Belang, the Party for Freedom of the Dutchman Geert Wilders, and the FPÖ, FIDESZ wants to become the third strongest force in the newly elected European Parliament with the Patriots for Europe group – and thus stronger than the ECR group. The previous ID will be dissolved. Group status comes with a number of privileges, such as the allocation of important positions in committees, more money and the right to receive grants for political foundations.
A right-wing majority is now more likely on many European issues, especially the war in Ukraine. Orban not only repeatedly blocks financial and other aid for Kyiv. He also vehemently opposes Ukraine’s proposed accession to the EU.
Orban has already announced that none of the 35 accession chapters will be opened during Hungary’s Council Presidency – although Hungary’s Council Presidency says it wants to be the most expansionist ever. But that applies more to Orban’s allies in the Western Balkans. “Hungary wants to make progress in the accession negotiations with Serbia, Montenegro, Georgia, Bosnia and Moldova and also push forward the expansion of the Schengen area to include Romania and Bulgaria,” said Barlai.
Strong narrative in Hungary
There are various reasons why Orban is once once more offending his EU partners with his visits in the name of a “peace mission,” says Barlai. “Due to his international isolation and his bad image, Orban is using the opportunity and the international attention to expand his scope for action and present himself as a European statesman who is bringing peace back to Europe,” says the expert.
“On the one hand, this serves to win future allies, such as the new EP group Patriots for Europe, and on the other hand to strengthen his support in Hungary, where the peace narrative is effective.” Orban’s trips serve “less the purpose of actual peace, but rather his political agenda and the expansion of his power.”
