The European Commission’s announcement on Monday was not well received in some EU capitals, according to two diplomatic sources consulted by Euronews.
Several European Union countries have complained about the European Commission’s decision to boycott the Hungarian presidency, announced days ahead of a crucial vote to re-appoint Ursula von der Leyen as its chief, two diplomatic sources told Euronews.
The EU’s executive announced on Monday that it will not send its commissioners to informal council meetings and that it had cancelled its trip to Budapest, a routine visit that the Commission undertakes at the beginning of each new presidency of the Council of the EU.
The decision was made after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán went to Moscow and Beijing on a self-branded “peace mission” that left ambiguity on whether he was representing his country or the EU.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a diplomatic source told Euronews that in an exchange among multiple senior EU diplomats, the EU executive decision was described as a political attempt to please MEPs that could negatively impact the work of the Council.
“It is an electoral move that can eventually benefit Orbán himself,” the source said.
Von der Leyen is bidding to run the Commission for a second five-year term and will face a vote in the European Parliament on Thursday. In order to secure the required majority of 361 votes, she has been meeting political groups in recent weeks but the outcome of the secret ballot remains uncertain.
The Commission has described its decision as a “symbolic gesture”, however, rather than a boycott as it will be represented during the informal gatherings by civil servants, which has been done in the past.
Yet, the move is being seen as unprecedented one that could hinder future political relations between member states and the Commission.
A second diplomatic source said that most member states expressed their disappointment during a meeting last week, after the Commission informed them about its plan, stressing that the EU executive is meant to remain “impartial”.
Asked about the reaction from some EU capitals, a Commission spokesperson said however that “member states have expressed their views which in most cases remain aligned with the Commission’s decision”.
Euronews contacted the Hungarian presidency, however it declined to comment on the matter.
