Von der Leyen described her re-election as a "strong message."Continue reading
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán received António Costa, the newly elected President of the European Council at the Carmelite Monastery on Tuesday, Bertalan Havasi, Deputy State Secretary in charge of the Prime Minister’s Press Office, told MTI.
António Costa, who will take office on December 1, intends to visit all Member States later this year, with Budapest being one of the first stops on the agenda.
Tuesday’s meeting focused on the program of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the objectives of the new European Council President, said Bertalan Havasi.
Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán
Former Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa was elected in June as the new President of the European Council, taking over from Charles Michel. At the end of June, EU leaders decided on three posts: alongside António Costa, Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected to head the European Commission, while Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas was elected as the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Viktor Orbán reportedly supported the election of António Costa, while he abstained on Kallas. On Leyen, he expressed on several occasions that he cannot support the extension of her mandate because she has used the instrument of the rule of law against Hungary on political grounds.
Costa’s visit did not receive much publicity. This is probably due to the fact that he has not yet taken office, and his visit to Budapest is only part of an early diplomatic tour to the Member States. Politico reports that he will head to Warsaw on Wednesday to meet with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and to Madrid on Friday for talks with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Via MTI, Politico; Featured image: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán