She accused Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban of giving the impression that he was representing the EU during his recent visits to Russia and China to discuss the Ukraine conflict, RT reported.
Speaking after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, Valtonen stressed that Hungary –which currently holds the rotating EU presidency– is not entitled to represent the 27-nation bloc as its foreign policy views “do not correspond to the official line of the union.”
“Of course, it is up to the individual country to do so,” Valtonen told the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper. “But at some point, it may be worth asking whether the European Union is the right reference group if the ideas differ so fundamentally from our common values.”
Budapest took over the rotating presidency of the EU Council at the start of July. The body defines the bloc’s overall political direction and priorities.
Hungarian Prime Minister Orban then embarked on what he called a Ukraine “peace mission,” aiming to find a resolution to the conflict by holding talks with its “five main actors” – Ukraine, Russia, China, the EU, and the US.