Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni held a personal meeting with her Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban before the start of the European Council meeting on Thursday morning, UNN reports citing Politico.
Details
According to the publication, this happened at a time when EU leaders are increasing pressure on Orban to overturn his veto on the start of accession talks with Ukraine and on additional EU funding for Ukraine.
"The Italian conservative leader often tries to sway his right-wing counterpart Orban during tense European summits," the newspaper notes.
According to Italian media, on Wednesday evening, Maloney held an informal meeting with her French and German counterparts Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz over a glass of red wine at the Amigo Hotel in Brussels.
To recap,
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with European Council President Charles Michel, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen before the EU summit.