EU | The Hungarian foreign minister robs his “Finnish colleague”

Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó criticized his Finnish colleague in a recent interview with the pro-government Hungarian newspaper Mandiner.

In the interview, Szijjártó and the Hungarian government’s quarrels with politicians from other EU countries are discussed.

According to him, Western politicians are too critical of Hungary, in contrast to, for example, Russian and Turkish politicians.

“Eastern colleagues don’t usually start the occasion by talking about how our justice system is in a terrible mess, how we suppress the media and how human rights are at a low level in our country,” the foreign minister compares.

Its instead, according to Szijjártó, Western politicians “always feel the need” to lecture him.

“For example, a Finnish colleague started to enlighten me about the situation of press freedom in Hungary, even if it would be worthwhile to look at the concentration of the Finnish media field,” he continues.

Szijjártó does not name the “Finnish colleague” in question in the interview.

For example foreign minister Elina Valtonen (cook) has reviewed in public the prime minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán activities after Hungary took up the rotating presidency of the Council of EU Member States at the beginning of July.

Orbán made trips to Moscow, Beijing and Washington, where Orbán met again with the candidate for the presidency of the United States Donald Trump’s. On his so-called peace trips, Orbán markets his view, which deviates from the EU mainstream, on how Russia and Ukraine should react to the war.

It has not been right for Hungary to act as a representative of the EU in its bilateral diplomacy or to give such an impression, Valtonen stated in July.

Also the president of the republic Alexander Stubb commented on Orbán’s so-called peace trips in July.

“The first message, I think, is that his behavior is disrespectful to both the host country, the United States, and to our allies,” Stubb said of Orbán.

Both Finland and Sweden ended up boycotting the ministerial meetings of Hungary, the country holding the EU presidency, as a protest against Orbán’s visit to Moscow.

“The country holding the presidency has a special responsibility for nurturing the unity of the Union, based on jointly accepted positions and operating principles”, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (kok) justified the decision to HS in July.

“Orbán’s actions are not a good start to the Hungarian presidency.”