EU Excludes Hungary from Sensitive Talks Amid Russia Leak Concerns, Say Diplomats

In a Saturday report, the Washington Post stated that Orbán’s government maintained close ties with Moscow during the Ukraine war, with Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó updating Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during meetings. Concerns about Hungary sending information to Moscow led to increased use of breakout formats with like-minded leaders instead of meetings with all 27 EU members, according to a European official who wished to remain anonymous. “Overall, the less-than-loyal member states are why most European diplomacy now happens in smaller formats — E3, E4, E7, E8, Weimar, NB8, JEF, etc.,” the official said. These numerals represent the number of European leaders in these groups, such as the Weimar alliance (France, Germany, and Poland), NB8 (Nordics and Baltics), and JEF (10 northern European nations).

‘Fake news’

Former Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told POLITICO he was warned in 2024 about Hungary possibly passing information to Russia, leading him and his counterparts to limit shared information when Szijjártó was present. Even before a crucial NATO summit in Vilnius in 2023, diplomats excluded Budapest’s delegation from sensitive talks, Landsbergis mentioned.