Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó didn’t go easy on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a recent episode of the Harcosok Órája (Warriors‘ Hour) podcast. Szijjártó slammed von der Leyen over the US–EU trade deal announced on Sunday, stating that the Commission President has zero prestige in international diplomacy.
As he put it, within a week, ‘two important players in world politics wiped the floor with her.’ According to Szijjártó, von der Leyen first suffered humiliation in China: at the EU–China summit in Beijing, she was received ‘as if she were a tourist’ rather than as a head of state or government. After that, he claimed, the US President also humiliated the EU leader.
The Minister was particularly harsh in his criticism of the trade deal with the United States, which, he said, would result in European goods now being subject to multiple customs duties. He pointed out that while European cars destined for the US market were previously subject to a 2.5 per cent tariff, this rate has now risen to 15 per cent, with significant increases for other products as well. He said the change was a clear consequence of ‘eight years of rudeness competition in Europe’, with many vying to see who could insult Donald Trump more harshly in the hope of gaining liberal recognition.
Szijjártó put it bluntly: ‘We may end up paying six times as much in customs duties as we do now, and then Ursula von der Leyen will be happy with herself, and the people will sit there next to her and applaud her in Scotland.’ He added: ‘It really makes one feel a sense of secondary shame that such a person represents the European Union.’
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was similarly critical on Monday, calling the agreement worse than the one Washington reached with London, and stating it would be difficult to present it as a success. ‘Donald Trump ate von der Leyen. He’s a heavyweight negotiator; she’s a featherweight,’ Orbán added.
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