“Peace Mission” from Putin. And von der Leyen Gets Furious –

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban flies to Moscow to see Vladimir Putin on what he calls “a peace mission”. He does not have an EU mandate, he does not do it on behalf of the EU but he presides over the rotating six-month term of the EU Council, an impartial role that should represent all Twenty-seven. The visit, which follows the one to Kiev, where Orban brought his political views, was the fuse that unleashed the wrath of the EU institutions and all European leaders. After Thursday’s attack by European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen intervened today: “Appeasement will not stop Putin. Only unity and determination will pave the way to a global, just and lasting peace in Ukraine”. The EU Executive even calls into question the traditional trip of the College of Commissioners to the country hosting the EU presidency, this time already postponed until following the summer break. “The substance of this trip is not right. It is regarding appeasement, not peace. And we believe that this weakens the unity and determination that we must demonstrate to end this war,” reiterates the chief spokesperson of the Commission.

“The visit takes place exclusively in the framework of bilateral relations between Hungary and Russia”, stressed the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell, recalling that the presidency of the Council “does not entail any external representation of the Union, which is the responsibility of the President of the European Council at the level of Head of State or Government and of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy at ministerial level”. “This is precisely the Brussels bureaucratic absurdity that has not produced results in finding a way to peace in the Russia-Ukraine war. If we want to end the war we need a political approach rather than a bureaucratic one”, was Orban’s response.

The Hungarian prime minister “is exploiting his position as EU president to sow confusion”, says Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas, who has been appointed by the European Council as the next EU high representative for foreign policy. Shame, indignation, giant problem are the words most used by European leaders and the main pro-European forces in the European Parliament, who recall how the European Parliament had approved a resolution to prevent Hungary from holding the semester. Some are calling for an acceleration of the Article 7 procedure, which however concerns more violations of the rule of law. Both the EU institutions and the Kiev government say that the visit was not agreed with them. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, on the other hand, says he was informed of the trip and expects Orban to report its contents to the Allies at the Washington summit next week.

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In Brussels, irritation increased when the Russian president welcomed the Hungarian prime minister, saying “this time you have come not only as our long-standing partner, but also as the rotating president of the EU Council”. “Russia is in favor of a full conclusion to the conflict in Ukraine on the conditions expressed by Moscow, not just a ceasefire or a pause”, Putin stressed, specifying that the conditions are “the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbass and Novorossia”. For Orban, “the positions of the Russian authorities and Kiev are very distant, much must be done to bring peace closer”. “Europe needs peace, that is the most important thing. Hungary believes that ensuring peace in Europe is its main task during its presidency of the EU Council”, the prime minister remarked, donning his new role as peacemaker. The White House says it is “concerned” by this trip to Moscow, which “will not advance the cause of peace and is counterproductive”.