Hungary accuses EU Commission of cherry picking for downgrading meeting attendance

BRUSSELS - Hungary on Monday accused the EU Commission of cherry picking after it said it would not send its commissioners to informal meetings organised by the Hungarian EU presidency, effectively downgrading the EU executive body's participation.ce..

The move comes after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump last week and earlier made surprise visits to Kyiv, Moscow and Beijing on a self-styled "peace mission", sparking criticism among EU member states. ..

"In light of recent developments marking the start of the Hungarian Presidency, the President has decided that will be represented at senior civil servant level only during informal meetings of the Council", Eric Mamer, spokesman for the European Commission president, said on X. ..

The decision, which Mamer noted in a separate message to journalists is not limited in time, effectively downgrades the EU Commission's participation as specialist commissioners for the policy area under discussion normally attend EU ministerialmeetings..

Last week, the Swedish government said Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden will not send ministers to government meetings linked to Hungary's EU presidency this month in a protest at Orban's talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin..

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