Netanyahu's visit to Hungary despite ICC arrest warrant exploits EU divisions

Viktor Orban is an outlier on issues including Russia but has quiet support for Israeli stance

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest on Thursday. Bloomberg

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Hungary early Thursday in response to a controversial invitation from his counterpart Viktor Orban.

Hungary became the first member of the EU to openly defy an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for crimes against humanity against Mr Netanyahu, which Hungary condemned as "shameful". It is in line with Mr Orban's challenges to the EU's commitment to international law and democratic principles.

The five-day visit, scheduled to begin on April 2, has been described by Amnesty International as “a cynical effort to undermine the ICC and its work”.

“Any trip [Mr Netanyahu] takes to an ICC member state that does not end in his arrest would embolden Israel to commit further crimes against Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories,” the human rights campaign group said.

Netanyahu's visit to Hungary is yet another attack on multilateral rules-based order, and international law and justice

A European diplomat

But it also highlights the ambivalent position taken by many European countries towards the ICC and its work.

“It's a very clear case of double standards. The EU is one of the most principled actors when it comes to international law globally but that fails when it comes to Israel and Palestine,” Hussein Baoumi, foreign policy advocacy officer at Amnesty International's European institutions office in Brussels, told The National.

Moral clarity

The Hungarian invitation was extended in a letter sent in November last year, shortly after the ICC charged the 75-year old Israeli leader with war crimes in the Gaza Strip, including using starvation as a method of warfare and crimes against humanity such as murder.

At the time, Mr Netanyahu thanked Mr Orban for his “moral clarity and steadfastness on the side of justice and the truth”. In an interview, the Hungarian leader said that he had "no other choice" than to reject the ICC decision, which he described as "wrong". "We have to confront this decision, and so later today I will invite the Prime Minister of Israeli, Mr Netanyahu, to visit Hungary," he said.

Hungary signed the Rome Statute, the international treaty that created the ICC, in 1999, and ratified it two years later during Mr Orban's first term in office. But Budapest has not promulgated the associated convention for reasons of constitutionality and therefore asserts it does not have to comply with ICC decisions.

While the Hungarian invitation to Mr Netanyahu was prompted by the ICC arrest warrant, the two leaders will also be discussing US President Donald Trump's plans for Gaza, Israeli media has reported. Mr Netanyahu in February visited the US, which has not signed the Rome Statute and has issued sanctions against the ICC for targeting the Israeli Prime Minister.

Mr Trump's plan includes pushing out Palestinians from the enclave and building a Mediterranean resort instead – a breach of international law that was rejected by most Arab states. This also goes against the EU's long-standing position of supporting a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.

Palestinians receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by the UN in the Gaza Strip. AP

Hungary is widely viewed as an outlier at EU level because of its relationship with Russia and repeated veto of decisions in support of Ukraine that require unanimous backing from the bloc's 27 states.

This refusal came after the European Commission in 2022 blocked about €22 billion ($23.75 billion) in funds to Hungary amid concerns over rule-of-law offences, including undermining the independence of the judiciary, before unfreezing about half of that sum last year.

Mr Orban, who has campaigned with hostile billboards against EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, is considered by many in Brussels as the troublesome leader of Europe's authoritarian far-right.

On Monday, Mr Orban was among the first international leaders to show his support for popular French far-right leader Marine Le Pen after a court in Paris found her guilty of embezzling hundreds of thousands of euros in European Parliament funds, in effect stopping her from running in the 2027 presidential race.

Wake-up call

In European circles, frustration with Hungary is so intense that Germany is reported to be working on a proposal to scrap the need for consensus on sanctions – such as those imposed upon Russia – in an effort to bypass Mr Orban's resistance.

The incoming German government has also agreed to suggest to the EU to withhold funds and suspend voting rights from countries that defy the rule of law. While Hungary is not named, it is the obvious target of the proposal, Politico reported on Monday.

Yet when it comes to denouncing human rights violations against Palestinians, most EU heavyweights appear to join ranks with Hungary in their rejection of the implementation of the ICC's arrest warrant.

“This should really be a wake-up call,” Amnesty's Mr Baoumi said.

Germany's incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he would find “ways and means” to invite Mr Netanyahu without being arrested. In an apparent effort to remain involved in ceasefire talks in Lebanon by not alienating Mr Netanyahu, France's Foreign Ministry has argued that heads of state from countries that have not ratified the Rome Statute cannot be arrested.

A billboard showing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Alexander Soros, son of Hungarian-US billionaire George Soros, with the slogan 'Let's not dance to their tunes! National consultation' in Budapest. AFP

This appeared to contradict statements issued by France calling on Mongolia to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit in September. Mr Putin is also the subject of an ICC arrest warrant. Russia withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2016.

Not everyone in Europe thinks Mr Netanyahu should freely visit the continent. The EU is divided on the Middle East and a number of countries demonstrably pro-Palestine such as Spain and Ireland have also indicated they would arrest him.

One European diplomat described Mr Netanyahu's visit to Hungary as “extremely worrying, and yet another attack on multilateral rules-based order, and international law and justice”.

Overall, the EU has remained a strong ally of Israel despite mounting criticism of its conduct in Gaza and Lebanon. The bloc has rejected the idea put forward by some capitals to review its free trade agreement with Israel on human rights grounds. This would be akin to sanctioning Israel, for whom the EU is the most important trading partner.

When questioned about Mr Netanyahu's visit to Hungary, the EU Commission, the bloc's executive arm, has reiterated its support for the ICC without specifically calling for his arrest.

On Monday, a representative said that the EU “respects the court’s independence and impartiality and we are strongly committed to international criminal justice and the fight against impunity”.

They recalled 2023 EU council conclusions calling upon all states to ensure full co-operation with the court, including by the prompt execution of outstanding arrest warrants.

Some countries have avoided the awkward decision on Mr Netanyahu's freedom of movement by sending ministers and envoys to Israel.

During a visit to Jerusalem on Sunday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was welcomed by Mr Netanyahu with these words: “From one democracy in the Eastern Mediterranean to another democracy in the Eastern Mediterranean, welcome, friend.”