EU debates response to Orban's controversial Moscow and Beijing trips

The foreign ministers of EU countries will discuss the "unacceptable" visits of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Moscow and Beijing at a meeting on Monday in Brussels, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell informed before the meeting.

“We will discuss what happened and what positions the Hungarian government has taken,” Borrell said. He added that member states must debate this issue before making any potential decisions on handling the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU over the coming months.

Orban, as part of a self-proclaimed "peace mission," recently visited Kyiv, Moscow, and Beijing. He also discussed this matter during the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., and after its conclusion.

Orban's self-proclaimed "peace mission," which he began after Hungary assumed the presidency of the Council of the EU on July 1, was sharply criticized by representatives of EU institutions and many politicians from member states of the Community.

The European Commission announced on July 15 that it will be represented exclusively by senior officials at informal Council of the EU meetings in Budapest, not by commissioners. This is in response to Orban's unannounced and uncoordinated visit to Moscow at the beginning of July.

In a Friday interview, Orban announced that he would continue his "peace mission" until a ceasefire is reached in Russia's war against Ukraine. The politician considered the November presidential elections in the USA as crucial for his mission.

“Every day I negotiate with someone about some possibility, some detail, some new initiative,” Orban said in an interview with public broadcaster Radio Kossuth.