Orban Reportedly Skipping His Final EU Summit Before Leaving Office
Outgoing Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, who recently lost the election, will reportedly skip the upcoming informal EU summit in Cyprus, avoiding the traditional farewell ceremony.
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- 📰 Published: April 16, 2026 at 09:06
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Central News Agency
(CNA Correspondent Wu Bohui, Brussels, 15th) An informal EU leaders' summit is scheduled for next week, and it is reported that recently defeated Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will not attend, meaning he will miss the traditional ceremony the EU holds for outgoing leaders. Orban's relationship with the EU has been tense during his tenure due to his frequent use of vetoes against EU proposals.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban lost to political newcomer Peter Magyar in the parliamentary elections on the 12th, handing over the power he has held for 16 years.
According to Euronews, citing several EU officials, it is an EU tradition that outgoing national leaders receive a commemorative gift and tributes from fellow member state leaders during their final summit in office. However, Orban will not attend the informal EU leaders' summit in Cyprus next week, which would also be his last summit, meaning he will be absent from this traditional ceremony.
If Orban definitively decides to skip the Cyprus summit, it means his final EU leaders' summit of his political career was the one held in March this year. It is currently uncertain whether Orban, if absent, will entrust another national leader to attend on his behalf. In the past, he had entrusted his ally, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, to attend meetings for him.
The relationship between Orban and the EU is quite strained, particularly because of his frequent use of the veto on proposals for EU aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. This action has drawn severe criticism from EU leaders.
In December last year, EU member state leaders reached an agreement to provide Ukraine with a 90 billion euro (about 3.357 trillion TWD) loan. However, Hungary, which initially promised during the meeting not to join the guarantee mechanism but also not to block the loan, later reversed its stance to opposition, causing the policy to stall. During the EU leaders' summit in mid-March this year, Orban still maintained his opposition to the loan, drawing criticism from multiple EU leaders.
Furthermore, the EU's 20th package of sanctions against Russia is still under negotiation due to Hungary's opposing views. (Editor: Tian Ruihua) 1150416
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(CNA Correspondent Wu Bohui, Brussels, 15th) An informal EU leaders' summit is scheduled for next week, and it is reported that recently defeated Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will not attend, meaning he will miss the traditional ceremony the EU holds for outgoing leaders. Orban's relationship with the EU has been tense during his tenure due to his frequent use of vetoes against EU proposals.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban lost to political newcomer Peter Magyar in the parliamentary elections on the 12th, handing over the power he has held for 16 years.
According to Euronews, citing several EU officials, it is an EU tradition that outgoing national leaders receive a commemorative gift and tributes from fellow member state leaders during their final summit in office. However, Orban will not attend the informal EU leaders' summit in Cyprus next week, which would also be his last summit, meaning he will be absent from this traditional ceremony.
If Orban definitively decides to skip the Cyprus summit, it means his final EU leaders' summit of his political career was the one held in March this year. It is currently uncertain whether Orban, if absent, will entrust another national leader to attend on his behalf. In the past, he had entrusted his ally, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, to attend meetings for him.
The relationship between Orban and the EU is quite strained, particularly because of his frequent use of the veto on proposals for EU aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. This action has drawn severe criticism from EU leaders.
In December last year, EU member state leaders reached an agreement to provide Ukraine with a 90 billion euro (about 3.357 trillion TWD) loan. However, Hungary, which initially promised during the meeting not to join the guarantee mechanism but also not to block the loan, later reversed its stance to opposition, causing the policy to stall. During the EU leaders' summit in mid-March this year, Orban still maintained his opposition to the loan, drawing criticism from multiple EU leaders.
Furthermore, the EU's 20th package of sanctions against Russia is still under negotiation due to Hungary's opposing views. (Editor: Tian Ruihua) 1150416
Choose to stand with facts. Every sponsorship from you is the power to protect press freedom.
Download the CNA 'First Hand News' APP to grasp the latest news instantly.
The text, images, audio, and video on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.