The European Commission will downgrade its participation in informal meetings planned by Hungary, which holds the bloc’s rotating presidency, in protest of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s diplomatic forays to Moscow and Beijing.

Top officials of the European Union will boycott informal meetings hosted by Hungary while the country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, after Hungary's pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán held a series of rogue meetings with foreign leaders about Ukraine that angered his European partners.

Deprived of any real job during the EU Council rotating presidency, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán defies once more the EU. Orbán plans to host informal meetings in Budapest to spread discord among the EU member states and promote its pro-Russia agenda.