The turquoise-green coalition has not yet found a consistent line on how to respond to the Hungarian government’s solo efforts as part of visits to Moscow and Beijing, which Prime Minister Viktor Orbán describes as a “peace mission”. However, one red-white-red minister has already joined Brussels’ announced boycott of Hungary.
As reported, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Monday that future informal ministerial meetings led by the current EU Council Presidency in Hungary will not be attended by commissioners, but only by senior officials. In addition, the European Commission will not make its traditional opening visit to the Hungarian presidency, a spokesperson said.
Rauch wants to show a “clear lead”.
Health and Social Affairs Minister Johannes Rauch wants to heed this call, the head of the Groen department announced on the sidelines of a meeting on Tuesday. It was “unacceptable” that Orbán traveled to Moscow. “I have decided not to go to these councils (the cabinet meetings under the Hungarian presidency, note),” Rauch made clear. This was his “personal political decision,” he said when asked whether this approach was coordinated within the government. “You have to take a clear position,” because Orbán “has crossed a line.”
Asked whether Hungary should be stripped of its voting rights in the EU Council, as 63 MEPs had demanded in a letter to the heads of EU institutions, Rauch said that this should be decided in Europe. It is about a “consistent attitude towards Hungary” – this is necessary, but he expressed his sympathy for this idea.
Brunner and Kocher are more reserved
ÖVP Finance Minister Magnus Brunner, who is considered a possible candidate for the position of the next EU commissioner, said in Brussels on Tuesday that he “of course understands that the European Commission wants to set an example here.” The events of the past days and weeks are bilateral visits, Brunner said of Orbán’s controversial trips.
On the other hand, it is about the future of Europe. And he assumes that Hungary will also put the European idea in the foreground, Brunner continued. It is about promoting the pressing problems of the European Union, such as competitiveness, and about continuing to cooperate with the Hungarian presidency. Brunner did not say whether he himself would go to the informal meeting of the finance ministers. The federal government will discuss a common line.
Minister of Economic Affairs Martin Kocher (ÖVP) was also more reserved than smoke: it was okay that Orbán made a bilateral visit – it was clear “that it was bilateral, and not on behalf of the EU”. When asked whether he would participate in councils, Kocher was reserved: it always depends on the schedule. Regarding the issue of the withdrawal of voting rights, the minister referred to the possibilities that exist in this area at EU level.
Schallenberg: “You have to leave the church in the village”
Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) is sticking to his previous position against a boycott of the Hungarian presidency of the EU Council in protest against Prime Minister Orbán’s solo actions, a spokeswoman told APA. Last Wednesday, Schallenberg criticized Orbán’s trips, which were described as “peace missions”, in the Ö1 “Morgenjournal”, including to Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin, who was subject to EU sanctions. “He did not speak on behalf of the European Union. He has no mandate, no order,” Schallenberg stressed. “We have to draw clear lines, but also leave the church in the village.”
FPÖ: ÖVP must vote against Von der Leyen
Meanwhile, the FPÖ called on the chancellor’s party to vote against von der Leyen’s re-election. Party leader Herbert Kickl called on Chancellor Nehammer to condemn the boycott. “Von der Leyen is a symbol and a negative symbolic figure of the undemocratic aloofness of the EU bureaucracy, a deeply undemocratic self-image and a disconnection of the self-appointed elites from the peoples of Europe,” Kickl ranted. The European Commission is “nothing other than the employee of the EU member states, but certainly not their boss.”
On Thursday, Von der Leyen’s re-election is on the agenda in Strasbourg. The German CDU politician needs an absolute majority of at least 361 of the 720 members of parliament.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
