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DrThe European Commission is drawing further conclusions from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s unilateral actions: EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday that upcoming meetings of foreign and defence ministers will be held in Brussels – not in the Hungarian capital Budapest.

Borrell said after a ministerial meeting in Brussels that he had taken the decision after a majority of ministers spoke out against Hungary and wanted to impose „symbolic” consequences on the country. According to Borrell, 25 foreign ministers condemned Orban’s behaviour. The Hungarian received support only from Slovakia.

But Borrell has also been heavily criticised for his uncoordinated move to cancel the Budapest meeting. “Spain does not support a boycott in the EU,” Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said. Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel called the idea of ​​a boycott “nonsense”. Bettel said he would rather go to Budapest and express his opinion to the Hungarians. Germany, France and the Netherlands have also voiced opposition to Borrell’s proposal.

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In Brussels, it cannot be ruled out that Borrell’s boycott campaign will ultimately backfire: several ministers are now said to be staying away from the Brussels meeting on 28-30 August in protest.

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Hungary has held the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union since the beginning of July. Immediately after that visit began, Orbán made a surprise visit to Ukraine, Russia and China on a self-proclaimed “peace mission.” He also met with US presidential candidate Donald Trump. His meetings have drawn criticism from EU member states.

The European Commission had already reached its first conclusions a week ago. A Council spokesman had said that no commissioners would be sent to informal meetings of the Hungarian Council Presidency, but only senior officials. The decision was taken by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. There will also be no customary inaugural visit by the Commission to the new Council Presidency.

After Biden’s withdrawal from the US election campaign, Vice President Harris appears to be the new Democratic nominee. The Trump camp and the Republicans have already adjusted their strategy.

While US President Joe Biden is widely respected by Democrats for his decision, the reaction from Republicans seems somewhat different.

The crowd began to boo when Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, declared at a rally in Ohio: “Joe Biden is out of the race.” In his hometown of Middletown, the newly elected Vance has now thrown himself into the campaign.

That has changed dramatically for the Republican Party as a result of Biden’s withdrawal. So they are immediately adopting a new strategy and portraying the planned change of candidates as undemocratic.

Republicans make serious claims

Vance, for example, rails against the supposed Democratic elite who, in his view, were pulling the strings in the background: “Now to nominate someone else because George Soros and Barack Obama and a few elite Democrats decided behind closed doors to prioritize the Democrats.” Joe Biden is out “This is a threat to democracy. It’s not the Republican Party that fights for democracy every day.”

House Republican Leader Mike Johnson goes a step further. On CNN, he says that in some states you can’t just change the nominee. 14 million people voted for him in the primary — and Biden’s withdrawal now renders their votes invalid.

In the US states of Wisconsin, Georgia and Nevada, there are already regulations on how to conduct a candidate swap, but since Biden has not yet been formally nominated, it probably won’t help that Republicans go to court much.

Anti-Harris commercials are already running.

The second strategy directly targets Biden’s likely successor, current Vice President Kamala Harris. Donald Trump, who is running for the White House as a Republican, has already made a pitch at a campaign event in Michigan..

Trump, who mispronounced her name, says he just calls her „Laughing Kamala.” „You can tell a lot from her amazing smile,” the 78-year-old said. „She’s crazy.”

But the attacks are not limited to the personal level: Trump and Republicans are also blaming Harris on the political level — for everything the Biden administration has done.

Just an hour after he announced he would not run for re-election, the first TV ads came out: Harris was accused of covering up Biden’s supposedly poor health.

The short ad reads: “Kamala knew Joe couldn’t do the job, so she did it.” What they achieved was an invasion of the border, soaring inflation, and the death of the American dream.

Attack Surface When It Comes to Immigration

The immigration issue in particular could make Harris vulnerable to Republicans. As vice president, President Biden has tasked her with immigration policy.

“She didn’t do her job,” Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said on Fox News. “Harris is a failure.” Abbott said Americans should reject her at the ballot box in November.

It remains unclear whether Kamala Harris will actually run as a Democrat. Republicans are certainly preparing for that.