Orbán to miss Ukraine discussion at EU summit, Fico to represent him
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will not participate in the discussion of the Ukrainian issue because he will be late for the European Council meeting due to the celebration of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, joining the leaders only in the afternoon of Thursday. His interests will be represented by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
A senior European diplomat told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday ahead of the European Council meeting, which will be held on October 23.
He said the Prime Minister will be late, as he has a celebration of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956; he will arrive in the middle of the day. The doplomat mentioned that Prime Minister Fico will be Orbán's representative while he is away at the meeting.
A senior European diplomat explained that this is why Prime Minister Orbán will not participate in the discussion on Ukraine, because he is only arriving in the middle of the day, and the discussion of Ukraine will be the first item. Thus, it will start at half past ten, and hopefully with President Zelenskyy present. As for the mood (of other EU leaders) in the Council, it is very clear. He said there is a strategic divergence (with others), which Prime Minister Orbán clearly stated, and it still exists. The mood of the other 26 is to move forward with support for Ukraine, and the reparations loan is the key point of discussion on Thursday. If the European Council manages to give the (European Commission) a mandate formulated with some important conditions for the member states, so then they would make a significant contribution to advancing this debate and be able to have a sustainable, viable and reliable financial solution for Ukraine over the next few months, the source added.