EU fumes at rogue Orbán, but struggles to rein him in

BRUSSELS — When it comes to dealing with Budapest, Brussels’ bark is worse than its bite.

At a meeting on Wednesday, Hungary’s envoy to the EU, Bálint Ódor, took an “unprecedented” verbal beating from his Brussels colleagues over how Budapest has kicked off its turn at the head of the Council of the EU. The meeting lasted over two hours, with Slovakia the only country not taking the floor. 

“It’s unprecedented that the presidency would be reprimanded in such a way by all the others,” said one senior EU diplomat, who was granted anonymity to speak about a confidential meeting.

Since Budapest took over the rotating EU presidency last week, Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán has undertaken self-declared “peace missions” to Kyiv, Moscow, Beijing and Washington. 

Hungary says it doesn’t know what all the fuss is about.

At a packed press conference in Brussels on Wednesday, Hungary’s EU Minister János Bóka said the discussions “were not on behalf of the EU, these were not conducted based on a mandate from the European institutions, these were not conducted in the name of the European Union or any of its institutions.

Since Budapest took over the rotating EU presidency last week, Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán has undertaken self-declared “peace missions” to Kyiv, Moscow, Beijing and Washington. | Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images

“The prime minister is aware of the responsibilities that the presidency of the Council of the EU entails, and in [the] spirit of this responsibility he debriefed the president of the European Council and heads of state and governments on these visits.”

But EU ambassadors pushed back against those claims on Wednesday, echoing many of their leaders who have already publicly condemned the trips. 

The envoys noted the “timing and sequencing of the meetings, [the] use of presidency hashtags, and the reaction of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” an EU diplomat said, like others in this piece granted anonymity to speak freely. “The lines were clearly and deliberately blurred. And Orbán went counter to the letter and spirit of EUCO conclusions, thereby hurting EU unity,” the diplomat added, referring to summits of EU leaders.

Another EU diplomat marveled that “it took nine days for the Hungarian presidency to lose any smidgen of trust they had left,” adding that Orbán’s “actions are not serving the EU or peace. They play into the hands of Putin and his war project. The Hungarian slogan to ‘make Europe great again’ is more about making Russia great again at this stage.”

What can be done? 

European capitals are struggling to go beyond public condemnations of Hungary’s rogue presidency, however. 

“In reality, the options are limited,” an EU official said. Changing the order of the presidencies or shortening Hungary’s six-month turn at the helm of the EU might have been options at one point, but are now legally fraught as the presidency is underway, the official said. 

Former Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said the Court of Justice of the EU “would rule against” such moves, while “other countries would fear creating a precedent.” 

In the Wednesday meeting not a single ambassador raised the possibility of scrapping the presidency, several EU diplomats said. 

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of anger.

Estonian MEP Riho Terras is rallying support in the European Parliament to call on the bloc’s top leadership to trigger Article 7 of the Treaty on the European Union against Hungary. It’s the most serious political sanction that can be imposed on a member country, and involves suspending its right to vote on EU decisions. But it’s also a nuclear option that European capitals have shied away from so far. 

“He’s smart,” the EU official said, referring to Orbán. “He knows exactly how far he can go without risking immediate retaliation.”

Instead, several EU ambassadors threatened “practical consequences” if Orbán continues to pursue his current path, two other EU diplomats said.

“He’s smart,” the EU official said, referring to Orbán. “He knows exactly how far he can go without risking immediate retaliation.” | Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

The most immediate option would be to boycott the informal meetings of ministers organized by Budapest. At the first Hungarian Council meeting on Tuesday, only eight countries (including Hungary) sent a minister. Several EU ambassadors on Wednesday suggested a boycott of the informal meeting of foreign ministers in Budapest at the end of August. 

Bóka played down that possibility during his press conference, saying Hungary has received no indication that other member states won’t be sending ministers to meetings.  

But that doesn’t mean retaliation is off the table in future, EU diplomats warned. One described Wednesday’s meeting as a “yellow card.” 

Given how fast the situation with Budapest has escalated in just the first fortnight of its presidency, nobody is ruling out even firmer pushback from Brussels if Orbán crosses more red lines, such as in his dealings with former U.S. President Donald Trump. 

Brussels may yet consider showing Budapest the red card. For now, the game continues. 

Eddy Wax, Sarah Wheaton, Jacopo Barigazzi, Jakob Hanke Vela and Federica Di Sario contributed reporting.