Hungary's Orbán delivers cynical take on Ukraine joining the EU
Photo: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (Getty Images)
If Ukraine joins the European Union, the countries of the bloc will have to pay Kyiv money under various programs. This is precisely why Hungary opposes Ukraine's accession to the EU, reports DR.Dk citing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
“We want a strategic partnership with Ukraine. Membership would mean that the war would enter the EU. In that case, the European Union would have to pay Ukraine money. We don't like that,” Orbán said.
He also stressed that Ukraine's membership in the EU is allegedly too much. And in the future, a strategic partnership with a fair agreement on the economy, energy, and security will be sufficient.
Blocking Ukraine's accession to the EU
Viktor Orbán may find support in his unwillingness to support Ukraine's accession to the EU, including French leader Emmanuel Macron.
Subsequently, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha trolled Orbán over his statement on Ukraine's accession to the EU and NATO and said that Hungary, which does not want to belong to organizations together with Ukraine, will have to leave dozens of integration formats.
The European Union is discussing a temporary bypass of the Hungarian veto on accession negotiations. The European Commission has proposed adjusting the rules and even starting technical work on several clusters without a formal decision.
This step will make it possible to promote reforms and bring the legislation of Ukraine and Moldova closer to European standards.
According to Eurobarometer data for spring 2025, 60% of European citizens approve of granting Ukraine EU candidate status. At the same time, 34% of respondents opposed it.
