Chancellor Karl Nehammer of Austria has declared that he is not joining the boycott by EU Member States of the Hungarian EU Presidency, according to an Austrian paper Kronen Zeitung report. Earlier this month, a number of foreign ministers of EU countries have stated their intention of not attending the foreign affairs summit in August, organized by the Hungarian government, and instead opting to put together a similar event of their own in protest.
Chancellor Nehammer, however, believes this is not a productive idea, and will not be joining the protest efforts.
‘Not talking to each other within the EU is the worst solution of all. Austrian ministers will therefore continue to participate in sessions and meetings of the EU Council Presidency,’ he said at a press conference on Tuesday, 16 July. Soon thereafter, his press secretary clarified that this commitment applies to ministers from his party, ÖVP. However, Nehammer has also expressed some criticism of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary’s international peace mission, calling it ‘uncoordinated’.
On the other hand, the Green Party of Austria, spearheaded by Minister of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection Johannes Rauch, intends to join the boycott.
PM Orbán has been accused by left-wing politicians in Europe of ‘hijacking’ the Union’s foreign policy. Since Hungary took over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU on 1 July, the Hungarian head of government has met with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, President Xi Jinping of China, and Former US President Donald Trump as well as part of his peace mission.
Hungary–Austria Relations Under PM Orbán
Viktor Orbán’s administrations have collaborated with their Austrian counterparts many times over the years.
When the European migration crisis broke out in 2015, it was then Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz who was among the first to join the Hungarian premier in his opposing mass illegal migration into the European Union. On that issue, the two Central European nations have remained united. A year ago, in July 2023, Chancellor Nehammer hosted a migration summit in Vienna, Austria with PM Orbán and President Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia. Nehammer told the press after the summit: ‘We must support those who defend their borders. Until the EU takes sufficient measures, we must help ourselves out.’
Chancellor Nehammer is a member of the right-wing populist Austrian People’s Party (ÖVB). He assumed office in December 2021, after the resignation of Former Chancellor Kurz. He will be up for re-election in September 2024.
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