Hungary warns fast-track Ukraine EU membership could spark war with Russia — BZ
Viktor Orbán and Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
The Hungarian government believes that a rapid accession of Ukraine to the EU could threaten the bloc with war with Russia and harm the economy, according to Berliner Zeitung.
Read also: Politico unveils 5-step roadmap for possible Ukraine's EU entry by 2027
BZ noted that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government has been warning for several months against the hasty integration of Ukraine into the European Union.
“Sources in the government say that rapid accession carries the risk of direct military conflict with Russia and would seriously damage the European economy,” BZ reports.
Tensions between Zelenskyy and Orbán
According to media reports, relations between Kyiv and Budapest are becoming increasingly tense.
Recently, in a dispute over Ukraine’s possible EU accession, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sharply criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and openly contradicted him.
The dispute arose after Zelenskyy demanded that Ukraine be technically ready to join the European Union by 2027.
Zelenskyy wrote on X that he needed a concrete date and warned that, otherwise, Russia would do everything to block the process - not directly, but through certain European representatives.
The statement came amid reports that the date was meant to be part of any agreement the president signed with the US, Russia, and Europe.
Orbán, in turn, responded to Zelenskyy’s post as follows.
Orbán wrote that the president was on the wrong path and that EU accession is a merit-based process, with the conditions set by member states rather than candidate countries.
This reaction puts Budapest in open opposition to Kyiv’s push for accelerated EU accession.
Moreover, at a rally in Szombathely, western Hungary, Orbán’s rhetoric became even harsher. According to media reports, he said that anyone demanding that the EU give up cheap Russian energy is acting against Hungary’s interests.
Orbán said that those who said this were enemies of Hungary and, therefore, that Ukraine was their enemy.
The Hungarian leader also intensified his rhetoric toward Brussels. Following reports that EU officials had considered granting Ukraine partial rights before all reforms were completed, bypassing Hungary’s veto, Orbán described it as a declaration of war.
“This new plan is an open declaration of war against Hungary,” he wrote.
Berliner Zeitung added that Budapest accuses the Brussels elite of allegedly ignoring the will of the Hungarian people and applying political pressure on the country. This comes ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for April.
Orbán has repeatedly stated that Brussels wants to see a government in Budapest that will no longer block Kyiv’s EU accession.
