A pro-Russian at the Élysée. As he is set to take over the presidency of the Council of the European Union on July 1, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is invited to Paris this Wednesday, June 26. A crucial moment for member countries on the eve of a European Council that must determine Europe’s priorities for the next five years. Emmanuel Macron receives Viktor Orban for a working lunch that could be eventful, his guest being particularly angry with Europe.
He is angry, first of all, with Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the Commission who exercised “the worst mandate in the History of Europe”, according to the Hungarian Prime Minister. But the latter is eating his hat: Ursula von der Leyen should be reappointed on Thursday for another five years. Angry at the European aid policy for Ukraine, Budapest has been blocking for months a check for more than 6 billion euros to support kyiv militarily.
Viktor Orban is also angry with Zelensky whom he accuses of not protecting the Hungarian community in Ukraine enough, he does not want Ukrainian Hungarians to be mobilized on the front. He also does not want to share European agricultural subsidies with Ukrainian farmers.
Ukraine, rule of law, immigration… Viktor Orban is very angry. The slogan he has chosen for the six months of his mandate at the head of Europe: “Make Europa Great Again”, a rather provocative allusion to Trump. On the other hand, the Hungarian Prime Minister does not forget that he needs Europe, its 19 billion euros of subsidies blocked by Brussels and the German car factories in his country.
This article is originally published on rtl.fr
