Members of the European Parliament have demanded that Hungary be deprived of its voting rights in the EU after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's trips to Russia and China.
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to Politico.
63 MEPs appealed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, and European Parliament President Robert Metzole with a statement that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban “has already caused significant damage by exploiting and abusing the role of the Council President.”
On July 1, Hungary took over the rotating presidency of the EU Council from Belgium. Since then, Orbán has embarked on self-proclaimed “peacekeeping missions” to Kyiv, Moscow, Beijing and Washington, claiming to represent the EU without authorization.
Orbán “has made several diplomatic visits, notably to Putin in Russia and Xi Jinping in China, during which he deliberately misrepresented his credentials,” the lawmakers wrote, calling on parliament to respond.
“This calls for real action, such as suspending Hungary's voting rights in the Council, because practice has shown that mere verbal condemnation has no effect,” the MEPs added.
The letter, supported by MEPs from various countries and parliamentary groups, including the EPP, the EPP's Renewal, the Left and the Greens, is the latest attempt to condemn Budapest for its misuse of the presidency. The Commission has also asked its commissioners not to attend informal meetings of Hungarian ministers, which were announced on Monday.
Author - Dmitriy Levchenko, 17/07/2024