Macron, Scholz, and Michel are having breakfast with Orbán, seeking to persuade him on Ukraine
European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will gather for a working breakfast with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is threatening to block a number of important summit decisions, reported Politico.
Commenting on the summit of the leaders of the EU member states, the leader of the German Social Democrats in the European Parliament, Jens Geier, said that thanks to Orbán, the Russian dictator Volodymyr Putin "is also sitting at the summit table", journalists quoted him.
In connection with the aggravation of the situation with the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU, Michel, Macron and Scholz will meet with Orbán to convince him.
Read also: Weakness toward "bad guys": Macron's frequent talks with dictators explained – Politico
The publication reminds that on December 13, President Michel met with Scholz and Ursula von der Leyen to agree on a "common line" before the summit.
On November 10, 2023, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that the country has a "clear position" – there should be no negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
Later, he threatened to block all European Union aid to Ukraine, as well as the country's future accession to the bloc, unless EU leaders agree to revise their strategy for supporting Ukraine.
On December 6, the Hungarian Prime Minister's Fidesz party submits a resolution to the parliament calling for a vote against the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
On December 12, representatives of the Hungarian community in Zakarpattia appealed to Orbán and European Council President Michel with a request to allow Ukraine to join the EU accession negotiations.
On December 11, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, met with his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Siyarto, for the first time since the beginning of the Great War. The head of the Foreign Ministry said that at the summit of the European Council, which will be held on December 14-15, Western leaders will consider four issues related to Ukraine and its European integration.
On December 14, Kuleba had a conversation with the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Radosław Sikorski. One of the topics of discussion was Ukraine's opening negotiations with the EU.