The High Representative of the EU, Joseph Borel announced today his decision to convene the informal meeting of EU Foreign and Defense Ministers at the end of August in Brussels, instead of Budapest.

The Informal Meeting of EU Foreign and Defense Ministers (Gymnich format) was scheduled to take place at the end of August in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, which holds the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU this semester. However, Borrell said today during the press conference, shortly after the conclusion of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, that his decision was due to Hungary’s recent stance on the war in Ukraine. Z. Borrell said this was a “symbolic” consequence for Hungary, after the Prime Minister’s trip Viktor Orban in Moscow, without the support of the EU countries. Before making his decision, Borel heard the positions of the EU Foreign Ministers, in a closed meeting, during which the possible consequences of the “peace mission” of the Hungarian Prime Minister were discussed.

“I have decided to convene the informal meeting of the EU Foreign and Defense Ministers in Brussels, after the summer holidays. At today’s Foreign Affairs Council, the EU member states overwhelmingly criticized Hungary’s lack of honest and faithful cooperation,” the head of European diplomacy emphasizes in a post on “X”.