Brussels Chooses Tantrums over Diplomacy

By: hungarytoday.hu

Jul 16 2024
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Brussels Chooses Tantrums over

The College of Commissioners of the European Commission (EC) will not visit Hungary, the EC chief spokesperson wrote on X on Monday. Reacting to this statement, EU Affairs Minister János Bóka pointed out that the European Union is an international organization made up of Member States, while the European Commission is an EU institution and the body cannot pick and choose which institutions or Member States it wants to cooperate with.

In a post last night, spokesman Eric Mamer wrote that in light of “recent developments” at the start of Hungary’s six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union, President Ursula von der Leyen had decided that the European Commission would be represented at senior civil servant level only at informal meetings of the Council.

In light of recent developments marking the start of the Hungarian Presidency, the President has decided that @EU_Commission will be represented at senior civil servant level only during informal meetings of the Council.
The College visit to the Presidency will not take place.
— Eric Mamer (@MamerEric) July 15, 2024

Fact

By “recent developments,” the spokesperson was most likely referring to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s peace mission, coinciding with the start of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU. As reported by Hungary Today, about two weeks ago, the Hungarian Prime Minister travelled first to Kyiv, then met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, and held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on the issue of the war in Ukraine. Mr Orbán also held talks with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington that took place on July 9-11, calling the Turkish President an important partner in the peace mission. Most recently, he met with former US President Donald Trump at his Florida estate in Mar-a-Lago, where they discussed the prospects for peace.

In response to Eric Mamer’s post, János Bóka wrote on X that the Hungarian Presidency remains committed to sincere cooperation with EU Member States and institutions. “They have been invited to participate in Presidency events aimed at addressing common challenges. This task and responsibility is shared by all Member States and institutions.”

In a separate post he added:

The EU Commission cannot cherry pick institutions and Member States it wants to cooperate with. Are all Commission decisions now based on political considerations?”

The #EU is an international organisation consituted by its Member States. The @EU_Commission is an institution of the EU. The @EU_Commission cannot cherry pick institutions & MSs it wants to cooperate with. Are all #Commission decisions now based on political considerations? 2/2
— Bóka János (@JanosBoka_HU) July 15, 2024

Kinga Gál, chair of the Fidesz group in the European Parliament, wrote on X that the boycott of the Hungarian EU presidency “is clearly part of Ursula von der Leyen’s election campaign.” She added: “We have become used to her using the EU institutions, especially against Hungary for political blackmail and pressure. This is unacceptable and goes against the very essence of European cooperation.”

The @EU_Commission announced that it will boycott the Hungarian Presidency of the Council. This is clearly a part of @vonderleyen’s election campaign. We have become used to her using the EU institutions, especially against #Hungary for political blackmail and pressure. This is…
— Kinga Gál (@kingagalMEP) July 15, 2024

The Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of European Union Affairs wrote on his Facebook page last night that “the European Commission is unable to see that the European people want peace, and that there is a much better chance of achieving this through negotiation, reopening diplomatic channels and dialogue than through the strategy of arms transfers and sanctions.” In his post, Barna Pál Zsigmond drew attention to the fact that there is no solution on the battlefield, it must be sought elsewhere, namely at the negotiating table, by opening diplomatic channels.

We see that apart from the Hungarian prime minister, European politicians who could talk to everyone, who would be welcomed everywhere, who would be accepted everywhere as a negotiating partner, have run out, and Brussels, instead of working for peace itself, is trying to force our country to the side of the pro-war left by blackmail,”

he wrote.

The politician said it was regrettable that the current “Von der Leyen Commission” was subordinating Europe’s prosperity, peace and security to its own party political interests, that it continued to ignore the opinions of the European people, and continued to side with war blackmailing those, including Hungary, who were working for peace. “We are working for the rise of Europe, and for that we need peace. Let us make Europe great!”

Fact

The majority of Ukrainians are, in fact, in favor of peace talks with Russia, while Brussels is in a tunnel vision on arms transfers. 44% in favor, 35% against, 21% undecided, finds a survey published by the ZN.ua media outlet on July 15. According to a similar survey conducted in May 2023, only 23% of Ukrainians polled were in favor of opening negotiations with Russia, The Kyiv Independent reports.

Letter by Viktor Orbán Addressed to EU leaders Surfaces Detailing the Hungarian PM's Peace Initiative