Just as during the emergency summit on Ukraine on 6 March, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán once again vetoed a joint European Council conclusion at Thursday’s meeting in Brussels. Orbán stated that he would continue to block every decision on Ukraine until the Hungarian people have had their say on Kyiv’s fast-track EU accession, referring to the public vote initiated by his government.
‘We will not agree to a common European position, of which Hungary is a part, that is pro-war,’ Orbán emphasized in a video posted on his social media during a break at the summit. He added that for Europe, the right course of action would be to support US President Donald Trump’s peace efforts.
Despite Hungary’s opposition, the other 26 member states issued the conclusion, which includes provisions for further sanctions on Russia and increased military and financial support for Ukraine. Although Hungary opted out, the document still stands as a formal Council conclusion.
Regarding the public vote on Ukraine’s accession, Orbán underscored that Hungary would no longer bear the financial burden of the war or Kyiv’s membership. He also revealed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in the discussions on the issue and, as Orbán described, was not very friendly in doing so.
‘He [Zelenskyy] is deluded, acting as if he is already in the European Union and can therefore afford to speak more sharply—but he cannot. He is an applicant who wants to be in the European Union,’ Orbán stressed. He added that despite Zelenskyy’s insistence, ‘until we know what the Hungarian people think, I cannot support him in this.’
Political Director of the Hungarian Prime Minister Balázs Orbán also travelled to Brussels alongside Viktor Orbán, where he told POLITICO that Europe has more pressing challenges than supporting Ukraine. ‘Rearmament of European countries: Yes. Rearmament of countries outside of Europe: No,’ he stated, referring to Ursula von der Leyen’s 800-billion-euro initiative to boost European common defence. He further emphasized that ‘the interests of European people are more important than those of other countries’ in relation to Ukraine’s fast-track accession.
‘The interests of European people are more important than those of other countries’
For those who doubt the existence of real efforts to accelerate Ukraine’s EU accession, a joint letter sent two days before Thursday’s summit makes the intent clear. In the letter, the foreign ministers of Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia urged Brussels to provide concrete steps for a special fast-track accession process for Ukraine.
‘Reaffirming full and unequivocal commitment to the EU membership perspective of Ukraine, we call for accelerating the accession process,’ the letter states. ‘The time has come for ambitious and effective decisions in this regard.’
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