Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated on December 1 that Ukraine’s membership in the EU did not coincide with Hungary’s national interests. The bloc should offer a “strategic partnership” with Ukraine before starting the accession talks, he added.
“The start of negotiations concerning Ukraine’s EU membership today does not coincide with Hungary’s national interests. It is not worth starting membership negotiations because we cannot answer the question of what the consequences of Ukraine’s membership would be.”
The prime minister’s comments came as the EU prepares for heated discussions at a summit in December over a proposed EU budget revision that includes a new €50bn aid to Kyiv. The summit is also expected to address the decision on whether to start accession talks with Ukraine, as well as the internal demands of some of the bloc’s members.
However, any positive decision, including authorising accession or approving military aid, requires unanimity among the bloc’s 27 members. Budapest has threatened to use the summit talks to block further financial and military aid to Kyiv and halt Ukraine’s accession bid.
Orbán stated that EU countries should offer aid to Ukraine from their own national coffers and not from the EU budget, noting that membership talks should not even be “on the agenda” of the December 14-15 summit.
I would be in favour of the EU concluding a strategic partnership agreement with Ukraine first. This could take five to 10 years. Let’s bring them closer. The distance is too great now (…) Give us time to start working together.
Ukrainian officials hope that Kyiv will be able to overcome Hungary’s political opposition and start negotiations on EU membership. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna stated that conquering Hungary would be a major challenge, but she was “confident” that Ukraine would succeed. Budapest “fundamentally undermines the efforts started by the whole world since the beginning of the war” as well as “the enlargement process for an enlarged united Europe”, she claimed.
“Receiving a ‘no’ is not an option for us. As Eminem says, success is the only opportunity [option] we have.”
Orbán has also repeatedly stated that if the EU wants to give Ukraine more money, it should set up a separate financial fund outside the EU budget on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement.
Everybody should put in the money that they want to, and we should send the money to Ukraine from (this fund).
The EU has frozen €22 billion in cohesion funds to Hungary until it proves to have implemented reforms to ensure the independence of judges and academics, as well as LGBTQ rights.
