Members of EU call for stripping Hungary of voting rights
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63 MEPs have penned a letter stating that Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban"abused" his role as the new rotating chief of the European Council by visiting Russia and China.
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European Council President Charles Michel speaks during his arrival at the NATO summit in Washington, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP)
Following the Hungarian Prime Minister's visits to China and Russia, European Parliament members asked that Hungary's right to vote in EU elections be taken away.
Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban "has already caused significant damage by exploiting and abusing the role of the Council Presidency," 63 MEPs said in a letter obtained by Politico and addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, and European Parliament Chief Roberta Metsola.
Belgium relinquished its rotating EU Council leadership to Hungary on July 1. Ever since, Orban went on what some subbed “peace missions” to Beijing, Moscow, Kiev, and Washington.
The MEPs said that Orban “undertook several diplomatic visits, notably to visit Putin in Russia and Xi Jinping in China, during which he intentionally misrepresented his empowerments,” and called on the parliament to act accordingly.
“This requires real actions, such as suspending Hungary’s voting rights in the Council, since practice has shown that mere verbal condemnations of this situation have no effect,” they added.
This follows a confidential letter by the Hungarian Prime Minister to EU leaders after consulting with Moscow and Beijing, suggesting that to find a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine, the EU should resume direct diplomatic relations with Russia and begin "high-level" talks with China.
In the letter, Orban added that the "general observation" based on his recent talks with Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, Xi Jinping of China, and Vladimir Putin of Russia was "that the intensity of the military conflict will radically escalate in the near future."
His visits with US presidential candidate Donald Trump, Xi, and Putin during the last two weeks while serving as the rotating president of the European Union startled his partners in the alliance and the bloc.
Orban visited Russia last week on a peace mission that began with his earlier visit to Kiev and continued to China. Sources familiar with the matter told the newspaper that the EU's legal service informed member states on Wednesday that Orban's actions violated agreements that prohibit any measures "which could undermine the achievement of the Union's objectives."
At the same time, the Hungarian leader is reported to have violated a provision that mandates all members to conduct foreign policy "unreservedly in a spirit of loyalty and mutual solidarity."
