Hungarian poll on Ukraine's EU membership has no legal weight, says European Commission
The survey on Ukraine’s EU membership, organized by Budapest, is non-binding. It is still unclear what will be done with it next, stated European Commission spokesperson Guillaume Mercier.
"We take note of the results of this national consultation. The Hungarian government called and organised this non-binding consultation. As you know, national consultations are a matter for the national authorities, so it's up to Hungary and the Hungarian government to explain how they would like to take it forward," Mercier said.
He pointed out that Ukraine is implementing the reforms necessary for EU membership amid a full-scale war.
The EC spokesperson reminded that, according to the European Commission’s findings, Ukraine meets the criteria to open the first cluster of EU accession negotiations.
According to Mercier, the EC positively evaluated Ukraine’s plan regarding national minorities. The issue of national minorities is the main source of conflict with Hungary.
He emphasized that there are no objective reasons to block the start of accession negotiations with Ukraine. Against this backdrop, Mercier expressed hope that such negotiations will begin "very soon."
Hungary’s position
Earlier, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, citing the results of his survey, claimed that 95% of Hungarians are allegedly against Ukraine’s EU accession.
At the same time, Hungary turned out to be the only one among the 27 EU countries to block the start of Ukraine’s accession negotiations with the bloc.
Sources familiar with the situation told RBC-Ukraine that Hungary might lift its veto only after the elections scheduled for next year.
