Hungary summons German envoy over speech critical of government

By Anita Komuves

BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto summoned the German ambassador on Thursday to complain about a speech in which she urged Hungarian public figures to speak out against actions she said were eroding the trust of Budapest’s NATO and EU allies.

“Hungary is on a path that is leading it away from its friends,” the ambassador, Julia Gross, told an audience of diplomats, NGOs and Hungarian officials, in an unusually critical speech to mark German Unity Day on Wednesday.

Szijjarto said the comments were “unacceptable.”

“Germany’s ambassador to Budapest seriously intervened in Hungary’s domestic matters with her speech yesterday in a way that infringes on Hungary’s sovereignty,” Szijjarto posted on his Facebook (NASDAQ:META) page.

Senior government officials did not attend Wednesday’s event, which last year was addressed by Szijjarto. The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on their absence.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s nationalist government has long been at loggerheads with Hungary’s Western allies on a range of issues including its record on human rights and media freedoms and over its relatively good economic ties with Russia.

Ambassador Gross said a range of actions had undermined Hungary’s trustworthiness, including what Orban described as a mission to bring peace to Ukraine which included talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in July without the backing of other EU member states.

She also criticised the government’s “antics surrounding Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO accession”. Budapest finally ratified Sweden’s NATO accession in February after a long delay.

‘PRINCIPLE OF SOLIDARITY’

Gross also mentioned “statements made by individual politicians in the last week”.

She did not elaborate, but last week wrote on X that Germany and France had protested to Hungary over “recent surprising statements undermining the principle of solidarity among allies”. She appeared to be referring to comments by a top Orban aide suggesting Ukraine should not have resisted Russia’s invasion.

“I see many people here tonight who have always been bridge-builders,” Gross said. “Together we should demand … that what you have built up not be torn down.”

Germany is Hungary’s largest trade parter and has played a central role in its economy since the mid-1990s, with car makers Audi, Daimler (OTC:MBGAF), Opel and BMW (ETR:BMWG) investing billions of euros in the Central European country.

Data from the German-Hungarian chamber of industry and commerce shows Germany accounted for 26.3% of all Hungarian exports and 22.6% of all Hungarian imports in 2023.