European Council President Charles Michel on Tuesday sent a sharp response to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to “put a stop” to his diplomacy towards Ukraine as the boycott of EU meetings under that country’s EU presidency continues to widen, Euractiv reports.
Michel’s letter, seen by Euractiv, came a day before EU ambassadors are expected to raise the issue informally on Wednesday in preparation for next week’s meeting of EU foreign ministers.
It also comes after the European Commission said on Monday it would boycott informal ministerial meetings organised by the Hungarian EU presidency in response to the widely condemned lone diplomatic effort.
Last week, the Council’s legal service told EU envoys that Budapest’s actions could constitute a breach of the bloc’s treaties.
So far, however, EU countries have so far failed to offer concrete options to curb Budapest’s actions other than public displays of anger.
However, most EU member states are now ready to join a boycott of the Hungarian EU presidency led by Eastern and Northern European countries, several EU diplomats told Euractiv.
Michel’s letter to Orbán
In his response to Orbán on Tuesday, Michel said he had “taken note of your points and suggestions” but wanted to “clarify the situation” on five key points.
Rebuking Budapest for its diplomatic self-interest towards Ukraine, Michel said the rotating EU presidency “has no role in representing the Union on the international stage and has not received a mandate from the European Council to participate on behalf of the Union.” He wrote, emphasising that the bloc’s position on Ukraine has been agreed by consensus among all 27 EU member states:
I made this clear even before your visit to Moscow and it was subsequently reiterated by High Representative Borrell in his statement of July 5. We, the EU, have reaffirmed our unwavering commitment to support Ukraine and its people for as long as necessary and as intensively as needed.
The President of the European Council also emphasised the EU’s key line that “no discussion on Ukraine can take place without Ukraine” and that the bloc “spares no effort to reach out to all partners in this respect, including China.”
Michel said he had shared the letter with all EU member states and would inform his Ukrainian counterparts about the exchange of letters.
Orbán’s letter to Michel
Michel’s response came after Orbán sent a letter to the president of the European Council, dated July 12 and also obtained by Euractiv, in which he largely echoed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands regarding Ukraine.
The letter, which caused consternation among EU leaders after Budapest’s lone diplomatic mission on Ukraine, consisted of 10 points.
In his letter, Orbán said one of the conclusions of his self-proclaimed “peace mission” to Ukraine, Russia, China, Turkey and US presidential candidate Donald Trump was that the EU should seek to restore diplomatic relations with Russia. Orbán wrote in his correspondence with Michel:
The chances for peace are diminishing because diplomatic channels are blocked and there is no direct dialogue between the parties that should play a leading role in creating conditions for peace.
Orbán also wrote that he believes a ceasefire and peace talks are still achievable, but added that ‘in the next two months we will see more dramatic casualties and military developments on the fronts than ever before’ if the war is not immediately ended.
The Hungarian prime minister also emphasised that Europe must take the lead in trying to negotiate peace between Russia and Ukraine as the US becomes increasingly distracted by the upcoming presidential election in November. He wrote:
The political leadership of the United States is limited due to the ongoing election campaign. Therefore, we cannot expect such a proposal from the United States in the coming months. We must consider – in the spirit of European strategic autonomy – the possibility of a European initiative.
Other Hungarian proposals include a “political offensive” in the Global South and possible talks with China, which has put forward its own peace proposal for the war in Ukraine and ignored a high-level peace conference in Switzerland in June, on a possible “peace conference” involving both Russia and Ukraine.
