World
Hungary brushes off ministerial no-shows at EU Council health summit
EU Council presidency holder Hungary claims progress in its push for an EU action plan on cardiovascular health and a potentially contentious plan to boost organ donation despite a diplomatic ruckus over the actions of its nationalist prime minister.
Government health officials gathered in Budapest this morning (25 July) to discuss EU action on heart disease and implementation of new rules on sharing and access to medical data, with Hungary claiming progress despite an ongoing diplomatic chill that saw only a handful of countries send ministers to the informal summit.
Orazio Schillaci from Italy, Bulgaria’s Galya Kondeva-Mankova and Maltese lawmaker Jo Etienne Abela were the only fully fledged ministers on the attendee list. Czechia and Greece sent deputy ministers; some eight others – including Germany and neighbour Slovakia – sent delegates of state secretary or similar rank.
Hungarian health minister Péter Takács brushed off suggestions that the lack of senior government officials reflected a backlash against Hungary’s conduct in the first weeks of its six-month turn as chair of inter-governmental legislative debates, with premier Viktor Orbán having drawn fire for using the EU Council presidency as a launchpad for a self-styled ‘peace mission’ to Moscow and Beijing.
“I believe that given it is the summer season these are by no means bad numbers,” Takács told reporters after chairing a first round of talks. He stressed that informal ministerial summits were policy forums where delegates share opinions “based on facts and not ideology”. Such meetings were “an island of peace in European politics and, I hope, will remain so”, he said.
Still, the choice of delegate from some member states was difficult to interpret other than as a diplomatic rebuke: Austria sent its resident ambassador, Denmark an EU affairs specialist, Belgium an attaché from its EU representative office in Brussels, and France the deputy head of a delegation on European and international affairs.
Action on heart disease
On the substance of the talks, the Hungarian minister said there had been broad agreement among delegates on the need for concerted action on cardiovascular disease, and the importance of prevention and promoting health literacy. Ideas put forward during the discussion would be channelled into Council conclusions at a formal ministerial summit in December, he said.
“We are confident that we will jointly adopt an action plan as successful as the one on cancer that was agreed [during the presidencies of] Sweden, France and Czechia,” Takács said.
Sharing health data
Regarding implementation of the recently agreed regulation for a European Health Data Space (EHDS), the minister said Hungary was floating the idea of setting up a joint platform where data could be shared in a “structured form” for subsequent use in research and policy planning.
“I believe this could be a good pilot project where we can test in real time what the system is capable of,” he said. “Good decisions can only be based on good data – I am convinced of this.”
Organ donation plan
Discussions were due to move onto the topic of organ donation in an afternoon session, said Takács, who earlier in the week had outlined potentially controversial plans to boost availability by implementing a universal ‘opt-out’ system.
“Organ donation not only saves lives, but is also the most effective intervention in the treatment of certain chronic diseases,” Takács said.
“The success of the EU organ donation and transplantation action plan between 2009 and 2015, which saw a 21% increase in organ donation, shows that cooperation is crucial, and that a new action plan is needed,” he said.
Trump congratulates Colombia presidential candidate
Trump congratulated Abelardo De La Espriella, known by many as ‘El Tigre,’ following an initial ballot count. While not officially called, the narrow lead signals a potential rightward shift for Colombia. (Reuters.)
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Progressive candidate Iván Cepeda on Wednesday conceded Colombia’s presidential election to conservative outsider Abelardo de la Espriella, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump.
The concession came days after Cepeda initially refused to acknowledge defeat following preliminary results that showed de la Espriella as the apparent winner.
“At this stage of the vote count, I have decided to accept the result emerging from that process, which indicates that Abelardo de la Espriella is the new President of the Republic,” Cepeda said in an address to the nation.
“I do so as an act of democratic responsibility.”
TRUMP SAYS COLOMBIA’S ‘EL TIGRE’ WILL BE A ‘GREAT PRESIDENT’ AS SOCIALIST OPPONENT LAUNCHES LEGAL CHALLENGE
Ivan Cepeda speaks during a campaign rally in Cali, Colombia, on June 6, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)
De la Espriella, a businessman and lawyer who had never previously run for office, known to his supporters as “El Tigre,” defeated Senate member Iván Cepeda by one percentage point in a remarkably close election, according to officials.
“The vote count shows an extraordinarily narrow margin between the two options vying for the trust of the Colombian people,” he said. “Less than 1% of the vote separates the candidacies that participated in this contest.”
Despite his concession, Cepeda made serious allegations that de la Espriella’s victory was influenced by “foreign interference” by the United States and the use of artificial intelligence to manipulate voters.
“During this process, we denounced the open and improper foreign interference in Colombia’s internal affairs—particularly the interventions by the United States government, and specifically the interventions by President Donald Trump in support of Abelardo de la Espriella’s candidacy,” he said.
He further accused the opposing campaign of widespread vote-buying and unethical tactics that he said undermined the legitimacy of the election results.
ANTI-CARTEL HARDLINER CHANNELS TRUMP IN BID TO END COLOMBIA’S LEFTIST ERA IN PIVOTAL ELECTION
Abelardo de la Espriella delivers a speech to supporters during a campaign rally in Palmira, near Cali, Colombia on May 14, 2026. (Joaquin Sarmiento/AFP via Getty Images)
President-elect de la Espriella will begin his four-year term in August.
“Starting August 7, we will work with determination to consolidate a common agenda that strengthens the security, freedom, and prosperity of our nations,” de la Espriella in a post on X.
The result will effectively end outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s leftist influence on the state and the policies Cepeda had pledged to continue if he won the election.
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, left, and President Donald Trump are shown in separate photographs. (Mauro Pimentel/AFP via Getty Images; Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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A core pillar of Petro’s signature agenda was his “total peace” strategy, aimed at opening negotiations with remaining guerrilla forces, drug cartels, and armed paramilitary groups in an effort to end Colombia’s decades long internal conflict.
In contrast, de la Espriella has pledged a more hardline approach, including a militarized crackdown on criminal organizations, proposals to build mega-prisons, expand fossil fuel fracking, and revive the controversial practice of aerial glyphosate spraying to eradicate coca crops.
The president-elect, who holds dual Colombian and U.S. citizenship, has also said he plans to add Colombia to the Trump-dubbed “Shield of the Americas,” a proposed coalition aimed at coordinating efforts against criminal groups in Latin America.
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Ten years after the UK voted to exit the European Union, the debate over Brexit’s legacy is far from over. MEPs Barry Andrews (Renew Europe) and Sander Smit (European Conservatives & Reformists) go head-to-head on whether Brexit has strengthened or weakened Europe—and whether Britain could or should one day return to the bloc.
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For Irish MEP Barry Andrews, the answer is clear. He argues that leaving the EU was a mistake and a “total disaster” for the UK, pointing to years of political instability and economic challenges since the referendum. He also contends that Brexit has ultimately strengthened support for the European project, stating that “there is nobody looking to leave the European Union anymore.”
Dutch MEP Sander Smit takes a different view, saying the EU still misses “the UK’s crucial voice for fiscal and financial discipline” and warning against a more centralised Europe. “Our future lies in a stronger partnership,” he says. “Let the UK and EU countries move beyond the past and work together as natural, sovereign allies.”
The Ring is hosted by Méabh Mc Mahon, produced by Luis Albertos Altarejos and Amaia Echevarria, and edited by Vassilis Glynos.
You can contact us at: thering@euronews.com
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