Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that the European Union should not begin negotiations with Ukraine on EU membership; this is Hungary’s “clear” position.
Source: Reuters with reference to Orban’s statement on state radio, reports “European truth”
Direct speech: “Membership negotiations should not begin, this is Hungary’s clear position.”
Details: According to him, the dispute between the EU and Hungary regarding billions of euros of funds from Brussels frozen for Budapest due to problems with the rule of law can in no way be connected with Hungary’s support for negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU.
“I would like to state very clearly that Hungary’s refusal to begin negotiations with Ukraine on EU membership is not the subject of a business agreement… It cannot be related to the issue of funds that Hungary is entitled to receive,” he stressed.
The Hungarian leader expressed the conviction that Ukraine is in no way ready to negotiate EU membership, saying that “Kyiv is far from the EU,” reports hvg.hu.
“Ukraine is in no way ready to negotiate with EU membership ambitions. Ukraine is as far away from EU membership as Makó (a city in southeastern Hungary – Ed.) is from Jerusalem,” he said.
Orban’s government has faced economic stagnation and rising budget deficits this year as Hungary struggles to emerge from Europe’s highest inflation rate, which topped 25% in the first quarter.
EU leaders are due to decide in mid-December whether to accept the European Commission’s recommendation to invite Kyiv to begin membership talks as soon as it meets four conditions.
Any such decision would require the unanimity of the EU’s 27 members and Hungary is the main potential obstacle to a decision.
Background:
Earlier, the Hungarian government stated that the E.U. shouldn’t start negotiations about membership with Ukraine due to its failure to fulfill the conditions. Orban also stated that Budapest will block the start of negotiations with Ukraine about joining the EU until Hungarian requirements regarding the language of education are met. In addition, the head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, Peter Szijjártó, said that Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, while there is a war going on there, will bring war into “the community, which obviously no one wants.” Last month the Financial Times reported that senior EU officials are considering the idea of separating Hungary some 13 billion euros of EU funds are currently blocked due to unresolved rule of law issues.
2023-11-10 09:18:00
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