European Commission to partly boycott Hungary's presidency

The executive arm of the European Union in Brussels is partially boycotting Hungary's six-month stint holding the bloc's rotating presidency in response to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's self-styled "peace mission" after taking up the position at the start of the month. 

In the first days of Hungary's presidency, Orban visited Kyiv, Moscow, Beijing and Washington for a NATO summit, and then Donald Trump in Florida.

The trip to Kyiv was Orban's first since Russia's invasion, despite Hungary bordering Ukraine.

He called the trip a peace mission and tried to portray himself as one of the "very few" EU and NATO leaders still able to hold productive talks in Moscow and negotiate with all sides. 

Sharp criticism rapidly followed from other EU member states and Hungary's NATO allies.

No commissioners to attend Hungary Council meetings

The European Commission said on Monday that it would carry out a partial boycott of Hungary's six months holding the European Council presidency. 

The EU's executive arm said it would only send high-ranking officials to informal meetings, not any of the 27 commissioners — meaning Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her various subordinates.

"In light of recent developments marking the start of the Hungarian Presidency, [Ursula von der Leyen] has decided that the European Commission will be represented at senior civil servant level only during the informal meetings of the Council," said von der Leyen's spokesman, Eric Mamer. 

"The College visit to the Presidency will not take place," Mamer added, referring to a six-monthly meeting that usually brings all or most of the 27 commissioners together in the capital of the country holding the rotating role.

Typically this visit takes place early in the six-month period, in the hope that the talks would lead to subsequent planning and action.

Several member states close to Russia have already taken this step

The European Union's decision on Monday follows in the footsteps of a series of EU member states, many of them positioned close to Russia's borders. 

Sweden's government last week announced that it, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland would not be sending ministers to government meetings linked to Hungary's EU presidency during July in protest of Orban's talks with Putin in Moscow. 

Swedish EU Affairs Minister Jessika Roswall said at the time that the countries would only be represented by civil servants and that other EU members were considering similar steps. 

Hungary says EU cannot 'cherry-pick'

Hungary responded critically to Monday's announcement, arguing that Brussels was effectively playing favorites when the point of the rotating presidency is for all members to have a stint at the helm. 

"The EU is an international organization constituted by its member states. The European Commission is an institution of the EU," Hungarian European Affairs Minister Janos Boka wrote on social media. 

"The European Commission cannot cherry-pick institutions and member states it wants to cooperate with. Are all Commission decisions now based on political considerations?" he said.

What is the 'European Council presidency' and does it matter? 

Three political institutions underpin the EU. 

The European Commission is the executive and drafts most legislation and holds much of the technocratic power. Its 27 Commissioners are appointed, albeit somewhat based on the results of European Parliament elections, at least in theory and where possible.

The European Parliament, with elected members from all member states, must sign off by majority voting on all Commission proposals, and can also recommend steps to the Commission for consideration. 

But almost everything the EU does needs final approval from the European Council. 

Counterintuitively, this organization does not really include "EU" officials. Instead, it is made up of the 27 elected governments from each member state. 

The Council must sign off on almost all EU policy — unanimously for the most sensitive issues and by complicated qualified majority voting processes otherwise — before it can be enacted. 

There is a European Council President, currently Charles Michel, whose job it is to help coordinate and reach consensus in these talks, and also to liaise and negotiate with the other EU institutions.

But it's European governments who take turns to hold the Council reins for six months each, with that period referred to as their presidency.

The holder of the presidency has no increased voting rights and no abilities to act unchecked, meaning all the same hurdles to implement policy apply to it as president.

But it is able to somewhat steer the agenda and decide what issues are explored (or neglected) during its tenure.

Hungary's period at the helm had been viewed with trepidation for some time, given how Orban has handled Russia's invasion of Ukraine since 2022.

msh/lo (AP, dpa, Reuters)