A group of European Parliament members has demanded that Hungary be stripped of its voting rights in the EU after Prime Minister Viktor Orban's trips to Russia and China, Politico reported, UNN writes.
Details
In a letter obtained by Politico, 63 MEPs wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, and European Parliament President Roberta Mecola, saying that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban "has already caused significant damage by using and abusing the role of the presidency of the Council (of the EU).
Hungary took over the rotating presidency of the EU Council from Belgium on July 1. Since then, Orbán has carried out self-proclaimed "peacekeeping missions" to Moscow and Beijing, as well as visits to Kyiv and Washington.
Orbán "has made several diplomatic visits, in particular to visit Putin in Russia and Xi Jinping in China, during which he deliberately misrepresented his credentials," the European lawmakers wrote and called on the European Parliament to react accordingly.
"This requires real action, such as suspending Hungary's voting rights in the Council (of the EU), as practice has shown that mere verbal condemnation of this situation has no effect," the MEPs added.
The letter, supported by MEPs from a number of countries and parliamentary groups, including EPP, Renew, the Left and the Greens, is, as the newspaper notes, "the latest attempt to condemn Budapest for its fraudulent presidency." The European Commission has also asked its members not to attend the informal meetings of Hungarian ministers, as announced on Monday.
