“We (the EU and the US) must work together. We are friends and allies,” said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, for example.
On the other hand, Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre de Croix said: “We are friends, and it would be stupid if we taxed each other with [muitas] tariffs when we have a common competitor – China.”
The President of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, raised them, who emphasized that “it is important to build good relations with the new organization. [ASV] administration”.
“We are still getting a lot of LNG (liquefied gas) from Russia. Why not replace it with American LNG, which is cheaper,” said von der Leyen.
The same critical comments came from the EU’s former foreign and security chief, Giuseppe Borrell, who said Trump had a “different relationship with the truth” than ordinary people.
With Trump, we are entering “a world driven more by interests than values,” Borrell warned.
Trump has previously raised concerns among EU leaders by promising to impose tariffs on EU imports, and has also raised doubts about future US aid to Ukraine .
However, von der Leyen pointed out that the war started by Russia against Ukraine also affects the interests of the United States, as Moscow is now supported by China, Iran and Korea. -North.
“Indo-Pacific [reģiona] and European security are intertwined, and the interests of the US and the EU are also intertwined,” the EC president emphasized.
Before that, Orbán, who has a close relationship with Trump, was a pariah in the EU as he tried to maintain ties with Moscow and expressed “illiberal” views.
Von der Leyen has so far boycotted all events held by Hungary as the current EU leader, and on October 9, when the two met publicly for their tour of finally in the European Parliament (EP), the president of the EC took the liberty of cracking. the prime minister of Hungary.
But on Friday, she did not spare a smile and thanked “dear Victor for his excellent hospitality” from the podium.
Orbán also avoided conflict, saying that “this is not a stage for clarifying differences” and that conflict with von der Leyen is “left in the past”.
Orbán also rejected any pro-Russian rhetoric, praising the “brave courage” of Ukrainian soldiers.
The Prime Minister of Hungary also said that it is a special honor for him to receive the European leaders in Budapest.
True, the main issue at Friday’s summit was increasing the bloc’s competitiveness, not the Ukraine issue.
The leaders of the member states adopted the “Budapest Declaration”, which contains a 12-point plan to accelerate the growth of the EU economy.
“If the Americans have decided to make America great again, we must make Europe great again,” Orbán said.
However, a day earlier, Orbán had a sharper exchange of words with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
He again called on Ukraine to end the fighting and come to an agreement with Russia.
Zelensky answered this with a series of sharp rhetorical questions: “Who are you? Are your children dying? Are they killed here? Is your house destroyed? (..) This is nonsense and disagreement (..) We call them “sofa experts” now.”
Only Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister, Robert Fico, joined Orbán in calling for Ukrainians to lay down their arms.
In order for the Prime Minister of Hungary not to withdraw from this position on Friday, he admitted that it was the “sovereign decision” of Ukraine to continue the fight. “It is their country, their future, their life,” Orbán said.
At the same time, von der Leyen and other EU leaders expressed their determination to support Ukraine, even if the US changed its foreign policy under Trump.
EU leaders on Friday also condemned attacks by pro-Palestinian groups on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam on Thursday.
Leaders of several member states also called for an external investigation into the violations committed in the parliamentary elections in Georgia.
According to official results, the party “Georgia’s Dream” founded and led by Bidzina Ivanishvili won the elections held on October 26, reportedly winning an absolute majority.
Lithuanian President Gitans Nausėda said that everyone knows that Ivanishvili is behind the falsification of the election results, and that everyone knows how close his relationship is to Russia.
