Viktor Orban was Monday night at the Elysee. While the Hungarian Prime Minister regularly makes a dissonant voice heard within the EU, Emmanuel Macron received him to insist on the "unity of European countries" on the war in Ukraine, as well as on "European values" and the "rule of law".

During a working dinner the Head of State and the Hungarian leader prepared the European Council on 23rd and 24th March in Brussels. They discussed "European industrial policy and competitiveness issues, as well as the subject of migration," the French presidency said.

Orban criticises EU-led 'indirect war'

Viktor Orban is sailing against the tide of his European partners on the Ukrainian issue. He criticises the "indirect war" waged by Europe against Russia and at the end of February launched a new call for a ceasefire. Beyond that, the nationalist leader has several times rubbed shoulders with the European Union about the fluctuating respect for the rule of law in Hungary, which Emmanuel Macron, much more Europhile, intended to raise again on Monday evening.

The Elysian dinner, more than a year after their last bilateral meeting in December 2021 in Budapest, was therefore "an opportunity to reaffirm the need for the unity of European countries in their support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, including through the strict application of sanctions against Russia," said the entourage of the French president.

The meeting also "provided an opportunity to discuss the ratification of Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO, as well as reforms of common interest, which should take place in the coming weeks in the Hungarian Parliament". Of the 30 members of the Atlantic Alliance, only Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify these two new candidacies submitted in the midst of the war in Ukraine. A French diplomatic source said Monday he was "quite confident" about the parliamentary process on the Hungarian side.

Since the beginning of the conflict in February 2022, Budapest, highly dependent on imports of Russian hydrocarbons, has maintained an ambiguous position, refraining from criticizing the Russian president. Viktor Orban, who had close ties with Vladimir Putin before the war, refuses to send weapons to Kiev and castigates European sanctions against Moscow, even though he voted for them.

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