EU countries are considering cancelling Hungary’s six-month presidency of the Council of the EU following Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s visits to Russia and China.
According to EUobserver, citing European diplomats, this issue is on the EU’s agenda.
According to the information, EU ambassadors will discuss Orban’s trip to Moscow and Beijing at a meeting of the EU Permanent Representatives Committee on 10 July.
According to the portal, the EU is unhappy with Orban’s use of the logo of Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the EU during his visits, although he claims to be acting exclusively on behalf of Budapest.
The portal’s sources claim that behind the scenes some countries are talking about a scenario in which Hungary could be stripped of its presidency and replaced by Spain and Belgium by the end of this year.
In addition, the portal reports that some European countries are discussing the possibility of relocating the European Political Community (EPC) summit from Budapest, and an informal decision on this issue could be taken in London on 18 July.
The portal explains that for any action to be taken, EU countries would have to unanimously recognise that Budapest’s actions undermine the values of the European Union, cancel Hungary’s presidency and deprive it of voting rights in the European Council, but this would be difficult to achieve as Slovakia would probably block such steps.