Hungarian PM says he blocked acceleration of Ukraine's EU accession talks
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced that his government systematically opposes a rapid EU accession for Ukraine and that his stance is tougher than that of his predecessor Viktor Orbán.
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar stated at a press conference in Brussels following the EU summit that he opposes the opening of all negotiating clusters in Ukraine's EU accession talks. He said his government's position on the issue is stronger than that of his predecessor, Viktor Orbán.
Magyar began by accusing Orbán of having previously supported Ukraine's EU membership. He claimed that in early 2022, before the full-scale invasion, Orbán wrote an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arguing for Ukraine's admission. Later, after the war had started, Orbán repeated the request together with Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó.
"So even Viktor Orbán once belonged to that club, but one day he woke up and decided that, from a political and electoral standpoint, it would be more advantageous for him to join the camp of those opposing Ukraine and using vetoes," Magyar said.
He emphasized that his government has been systematically working against Ukraine's rapid accession and succeeded in removing provisions that would have opened all other clusters immediately after the first. "We do not think this is a good idea. First, because the first cluster has only just been opened. Second, it sends the wrong signal to the Western Balkan countries that have been working towards accession," he added.
Magyar said that at Hungary's initiative, wording was added to the decision stating that the opening of the remaining five clusters must be "merit-based," meaning dependent on reform results. "We insisted that this process should be based on merit and results, just as it is for everyone else," he noted. He also claimed that a phrase calling for clusters to be opened "as soon as possible" was removed from the final decision at Hungary's request.
Magyar also mentioned his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Earlier, he boasted that he had "crossed out" the prospect of a rapid opening of clusters from the EU summit conclusions.
