Hungary has been left isolated and angry by the European Union's decison to move key meetings of its rotating presidency of the bloc from Hungary to Brussels as a punishment for Prime Minister Viktor Orban's recent trips to Moscow and Beijing.

Hungary’s top diplomat Peter Szijjarto has criticised EU High Representative Josep Borrell for organising an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, rather than in the country holding the EU presidency.

According to Euroactiv’s sources, half of the ministers would have opted for keeping the meeting in Budapest, but five indicated that they would not have travelled to the Hungarian capital.

The decision was made as a reaction to  Orban’s self-described peace mission to China and Russia without the authorisation of the Commission after Hungary assumed the rotating presidency on July 1.

When asked about the change of venue, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said that it is a clear signal that European countries do not agree with Hungary's foreign policy. While the Hungarian government calls itself pro-peace, it is pro-Russian, and defends Russian President Vladimir Putin in the courtroom instead of Europe, he added.

At a press conference following the meeting at the Brussels bureau of state media, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto called out his peers of peers for lack of 'realistic assessment' regarding the war, saying wartime psychosis "was rampant" in the EU.

Despite pressure, Hungary also refused to approve an additional €6bn to be transferred to member states as reimbursements from the European Peace Facility for weapons transfers for Ukraine, citing alleged discrimination against Hungarian companies in Ukraine and the risk to Hungary's energy supply after Ukraine extended a ban on the transit of oil by Lukoil.

Szijjarto said some participants had suggested tightening sanctions and expanding them in the area of energy. He added that a "significant number" of member states were still buying Russian energy using "covert, circuitous" routes.

Additionally, Hungary’s chief diplomat dismissed concerns from the European Commission and other EU leaders about Hungary's relaxed visa restrictions for Russian citizens, which some feared could allow Russian spies easier access to the Schengen Area.

As Szijjarto was lashing out in criticism of his EU peers, there are number of question marks surrounding the Budapest meeting of Eurogroup ministers.

According to local media, Hungary’s finance ministry is working around the clock on the organisation of the meeting of Eurozone finance ministers in Budapest in the framework of Hungary’s rotating presidency with the participation of high-ranking officials, including the head of the IMF, the OECD, the EBRD and the EIB.

In a statement sent to the commercial broadcaster ATV, the ministry writes that "Europe has fallen behind in competitiveness in the past few years compared to its rivals, and the Hungarian presidency aims to reverse that. There is no room for ideological and political debates", it added. While the government is trying to bring the event under the roof, Brussels-based Politico writes that many EU member states are considering boycotting the event due to Hungary’s foreign policy.

Last month, several countries boycotted ministerial meetings in Budapest in retaliation against the visits.

Citing people familiar with the issue, Politico writes that the president of the Eurogroup, Paschal Donohoe will decide by next week whether the meeting in Budapest will go ahead or not. Talks between eurozone finance ministers take place once a month, but twice a year, in the country that holds the rotating presidency.