Denmark will not send ministers to EU meetings held by Hungary after Orban's 'peace mission,' says gov’t

By Leila Nezirevic

LONDON (AA) - The Danish government announced on Thursday that the Nordic country will not send ministers to informal EU ministerial meetings held by Budapest following Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s visit to Russia earlier this month.

On July 1, Hungary took over the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, and the following day, Orban traveled to Ukraine to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, followed by a trip to Russia where he met Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Since the visits, the Hungarian government has said that it only aimed to negotiate a cease-fire in the war-torn Ukraine and that the trips had a “peace mission.”

Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen was quoted as saying by the national broadcaster DR: “The government wants to distance itself clearly from the Hungarian presidency's handling of Ukraine in the first weeks of the presidency.

“Therefore, for the time being, Denmark will cover informal ministerial meetings in Hungary at official level.”

Orban’s visit to Moscow sparked strong condemnation from European and NATO countries, including the EU legal service telling the member states earlier this month that his trip to Moscow is in breach of EU treaties, according to the Financial Times.

The European Commission announced earlier this week that the EU commissioners will not participate in the informal council of ministers' meetings held by Hungary and instead will send lower-level bureaucrats for the duration of Budapest’s six-month presidency.

Orban's statements and the presidency's communication after the visits have "contributed to giving the wrong impression that Orban acted on behalf of the EU," said the Danish foreign minister.

The Hungarian prime minister has long been strongly critical of the Ukraine-friendly course that the EU countries jointly lead.

Despite the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, he has maintained a good relationship with Moscow. Orban has pushed for the member states to work for a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia, rather than sending weapons, ammunition, and money to Kyiv.