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Poland snubs Hungary's Orban in row over granting of asylum to fugitive minister

Polish Minister of Funds and Regional Policy Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz sets out her priorities for Poland's six-month Presidency of the EU Council at a press briefing in Warsaw on Friday after taking over from Hungary on January 1. Photo by Pawel Supernak/EPA-EFE
Polish Minister of Funds and Regional Policy Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz sets out her priorities for Poland's six-month Presidency of the EU Council at a press briefing in Warsaw on Friday after taking over from Hungary on January 1. Photo by Pawel Supernak/EPA-EFE

Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Poland removed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and other top officials from his administration from the guest list for a gala event Friday to mark the handover of the rotating Presidency of the European Union from Budapest to Warsaw.

The Polish government was said to have issued the snub over a decision by Orban's administration to grant political asylum to Polish Deputy Justice Minister Marcin Romanowski for whom there is an outstanding European Arrest Warrant in connection with 11 misuse of public funds charges.

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"We invited the entire diplomatic corps, but after the situation with Mr. Romanowski, Foreign Minister [Radoslaw] Sikorski sent a note to the Hungarian ambassador that he was not a welcome guest at the [Grand] Theater," said Polish Deputy European Affairs Minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka.

She said the administration of Prime Minister Donald Tusk did not want Orban to attend either and were waiting to hear if a "lower ranking representative" would be sent their place.

Hungary's Foreign Ministry condemned the move as feeble and immature.

"According to Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, two terms are competitive in connection with the decision of the Polish Foreign Minister's colleague: pathetic and childish," it told Politico.

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Relations between the two neighbors, which both share a border with Ukraine, have seen a sharp deterioration since Tusk's centrist coalition came to power in December 2023 over diverging stances on the war in Ukraine, with Tusk strongly backing Kyiv and Orban cozying up to Moscow.

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