Hungary's ambassador not welcome at Poland's EU presidency launch
Poland did not invite Hungary's ambassador to a Friday event inaugurating Poland's EU presidency after Budapest offered asylum to a Polish former deputy minister wanted under a European Arrest Warrant for alleged misuse of public funds, a senior official has said.
Poland's decision regarding the Hungarian ambassador was reported on Friday morning by the Onet portal.
Later in the day, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, Poland's deputy minister for European Affairs, told the public broadcaster TVP Info that the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was also not invited to the evening ceremony at the Teatr Wielki-Polish National Opera in Warsaw.
Moreover, she said, the entire diplomatic corps was invited to attend the inauguration of Poland's presidency but the Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski "sent a note to the Hungarian ambassador that he was not welcome in the theatre."
Sobkowiak-Czarnecka said that the lack of an invitation to the Hungarian Prime Minister is a consequence of Hungary's granting political asylum to Marcin Romanowski, a deputy justice minister in the former government led by the socially-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party. He is accused of embezzling over PLN 107 million (around EUR 25 mln) from the justice ministry's special-purpose reserve for crime victims among other crimes.
Sobkowiak-Czarnecka also said that Hungary "has placed itself on the margins of the European Union" and is "currently the only country in the European Union facing proceedings under the rule of law mechanism."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), asked by PAP, confirmed that "due to recent actions by Budapest, we do not anticipate the participation of the Hungarian ambassador in the opening gala.
"The decision regarding the representation of the embassy at another level remains at the discretion of the Hungarian embassy," the MFA replied.
Later on Friday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, cited by the Hungarian news outlet HVG, said that not inviting the Hungarian ambassador to the Polish EU presidency gala was a "disgraceful and childish" decision.
Poland officially took over the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union from Hungary on January 1.
The Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU coincides with the start of a new institutional cycle in the EU. The composition of the new European Commission was approved by the European Parliament at the end of November, and the first summit under the chairmanship of new President of the European Council Antonio Costa took place in mid-December.
In line with the motto 'Security, Europe!' the Polish presidency will support activities strengthening European security in all its dimensions: external, internal, information, economic, energy, food, and health. (PAP)
mmr/stm/mf
