Consultations between finance ministers usually take place monthly, but twice a year in countries that hold the EU presidency. Shortly after Hungary came to power in July, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, visited Kiev, Moscow, Beijing and Washington on a self-declared “peace mission” that he claimed was on behalf of the EU, without authorization.
Preparatory meetings with senior officials are scheduled for September 5 and 6. Unusually, there is currently no information about the Eurogroup on the Council of the EU website.
Several ministers, including German Finance Minister Christian Lindner and the finance ministers of Estonia, Finland and Lithuania, have already indicated their intention not to attend the conference if it were to be held in Hungary.
Several German ministers, including Finance Minister Christian Lindner, have already indicated they will not attend the conference if it is held in Hungary. | Omer Messinger/Getty Images
In July, several countries boycotted a cabinet meeting in Budapest in retaliation for Prime Minister Orbán’s visit.
The European Commission has said its top officials will not take part in any meetings during Hungary’s six-month presidency until the end of the year, sparking outrage in Budapest.
At an open meeting of EU finance ministers in July, several ministers criticized Prime Minister Orban for meeting with President Putin and not prioritizing aid to Ukraine.
A number of ministerial meetings are due to take place ahead of the Eurogroup, with the EU foreign and defence ministers meeting taking place in Brussels this week instead of Budapest after EU foreign affairs chiefs changed the venue.
Officials said Donohue was likely to assess the mood at the Brussels talks before deciding whether to cancel them.
Gregorio Sorgi contributed to this report.
