The head of the liberal group Renew Europe, Valerie Hajer, called on the European Council to explore all possibilities to stop Hungary's presidency of the EU Council.
This is stated in a statement by Valerie Hayer published on the Renew Europe website.
On July 1, Hungary took over the rotating six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU. And Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has already stirred controversy by traveling to Moscow to meet with Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin.
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Hungary's EU Presidency
Valerie Hajer believes that the Hungarian Prime Minister is acting against the interests of the European Union, and this must stop.
— The Hungarian Prime Minister is undermining the positions taken by the European Union and acting against our interests, and this must stop. It is time to put an end to Viktor Orbán's unworthy presidency of the Council, — said Valerie Hayer.
Orban's sham peacekeeping mission is a security threat and a smokescreen for his own interests, she said.
Article 7 of the EU Treaty
Renew Europe also demands that the Council and the Commission take all legal steps to trigger Article 7 of the EU Treaty, which could lead to Hungary being deprived of its voting rights.
Article 7 gives the European Council the power to “suspend certain rights, up to — the voting rights of a Member State in the Council. Despite this, the country must still continue to fulfill the obligations it took upon itself when joining the EU, in particular, pay contributions to the EU common budget.
On July 5, after a visit to Ukraine, Viktor Orban arrived in Moscow to continue his “peace mission.” The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated that Budapest made the decision to send its prime minister to Moscow without coordinating or agreeing with Kiev.
