As It Takes Over EU Presidency, Poland Snubs Hungarian Ambassador

Polish authorities refused to invite Hungary’s ambassador to the official ceremonies marking Poland’s assumption of the rotating presidency of the European Union Council, following Budapest’s decision to grant asylum to a former Polish official accused of corruption.

In December, Budapest granted political asylum to Marcin Romanowski, a former deputy justice minister in Poland’s previous nationalist government, citing “concrete evidence of procedural shortcomings” in Poland. Warsaw described the move as a “hostile act,” according to AFP.

Polish Deputy Minister for European Affairs Magdalena Sroka told state television TVP Info that “Given the current situation with Mr. Romanowski, Minister [of Foreign Affairs] Radosław Sikorski sent a memorandum to the Hungarian ambassador, informing him that his presence is not welcome” at Friday’s ceremony in the National Theatre in Warsaw.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó called the decision “pathetic and childish” in a statement to AFP.

Polish prosecutors accuse Romanowski, who oversaw a victim aid fund under the Ministry of Justice between 2019 and 2023, of committing 11 violations, including embezzling or attempting to embezzle around €40 million.

Relations between Warsaw and Budapest have deteriorated since Poland’s nationalist Law and Justice Party—aligned with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán—lost the October 2023 parliamentary elections to a pro-European coalition led by Donald Tusk.

Poland officially assumed the rotating presidency of the EU Council from Hungary on January 1.