Hungary won’t block EU-Ukraine talks despite disagreement

Putin's ally, Hungarian PM Orbán, promises not to block Ukraine's EU accession talks despite criticizing the process and claiming that Ukrainian borders "have not been clarified in practice."

Jun 25, 2024 - 07:09

Hungary won’t block EU-Ukraine talks despite disagreement

Orban Putin Bejing

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has expressed criticism of the European Union’s accession talks with Ukraine, which begin today in Luxembourg, but said Hungary won’t block the negotiations.

Hungary, known as the EU’s most pro-Russian member, consistently opposes the union’s collective military aid to Ukraine and is currently obstructing seven related decisions worth around €6.6 billion.

Orbán stated,

“Hungary does not agree with this accession process, but we are not blocking it and support the start of the negotiations,” he said speaking to the Funke Mediengruppe, according to Tagesschau.

Orbán claimed that the talks are “a purely politically motivated process” and the issue is allegedly not about saying yes or no to EU membership.

“But we would first have to examine what the consequences would be if we accepted a country at war whose borders have not been clarified in practice,” said Orbán, whose country takes over the EU Council Presidency on 1 July.

Despite claims by the Hungarian PM, Ukraine’s borders are internationally recognized and undisputed, and Russian claims on occupied territories are void.

EU seeks to sidestep Hungary’s veto in sending Russian frozen assets profits to Ukraine

Earlier, on 12 June, Orbán met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, promising not to participate in any Alliance decisions regarding Ukraine, while also committing not to block these decisions.

On 7 June, the European Commission recommended initiating EU accession negotiations with Ukraine before Hungary takes over the presidency of the bloc. Following this, the Council of the European Union established negotiating frameworks for Ukraine and Moldova, with intergovernmental conferences starting the accession talks on 25 June.

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