Top EU leaders will boycott meetings hosted by Hungary’s Orbán after his outreach to Russia, China

Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The European Commission says that the commission president and other top EU officials will boycott informal meetings hosted by Hungary while the country holds the EU’s rotating presidency. That move was announced after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held a series of meetings with foreign leaders that angered European partners. Hungary took over the rotating role July 1, and since then Orban has visited Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, China, and the United States in what he has touted as a “peace mission” aimed at brokering an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Many EU leaders said they had not been informed in advance of Orbán’s plans and rushed to emphasize that the nationalist leader was not acting on behalf of the bloc