Overview
- Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, speaking Friday at the EU leaders’ meeting in Nicosia, said it was the first time in years there were no Russians in the room, a pointed reference to Viktor Orbán’s absence.
- Orbán’s Fidesz lost the April 12 parliamentary election to Péter Magyar’s Tisza party, and he remains caretaker prime minister but skipped the Cyprus summit.
- Reactions among leaders split, as Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever cautioned against too much euphoria and called Orbán a difficult partner but not an impossible one.
- Suspicion toward Budapest was stoked by March reports alleging Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó relayed confidential EU discussions to Russia’s Sergey Lavrov, a claim that Poland’s Radosław Sikorski mocked with a barbed comment.
- Hungary’s past vetoes on Ukraine support and sanctions on Russia have frustrated the bloc, and Orbán’s departure from power could ease talks at a summit focused on Ukraine, the EU budget, and the war involving Iran.