Macron to try and persuade Orbán to change his mind over Ukraine's EU accession
Macron is expected to try to convince the Hungarian prime minister to support Ukraine's accession to the EU.
As we have reported, Viktor Orbán on Monday sent another letter to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, calling on him not to put the decision to open accession negotiations with Ukraine on the upcoming EU summit's agenda.
Michel will now return early from the Chinese capital after a first day of meetings Thursday — partly because he does not have a secure phone line in Beijing to speak to EU leaders without China listening in, Politico cited an EU official as saying today.
Michel himself met Orbán in Budapest last week in a bid to smooth over tensions ahead of the EU leaders’ summit. Afterward, Michel stressed the importance of “EU unity,” which he said “requires constant effort and it’s our main strength.”
Bertalan Havasi did not give any details about the agenda of the meeting, directing the press to the French President's office.
Although some EU diplomats see Orbán's threat as political theatrics, others are increasingly concerned and fear that no compromise can be reached. The binary nature of the decision - to open accession talks in December or not - makes it difficult to find a workaround.
Cover photo: Thierry Monasse/Getty Images
