Change in sentiment in Poland regarding Ukraine’s accession to the EU and NATO: Orban called it a “big turn”
Ukrainian-Polish relations and support for Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration are entering a new phase. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has reacted to the results of a recent survey, which showed a significant decrease in the positive attitude of Poles towards Ukraine's accession to the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance. As expected, the politician described this trend as a "big turn", emphasizing that, according to him, even in Poland, one of the main lobbies for Ukraine's support on the international stage, a change in sentiment is felt. According to the results of a study by the IBRiS agency, Poland has already seen a significant decrease in the level of support for Ukraine's accession to the European Community and the military alliance. Thus, only 35% of respondents voted for Ukraine's accession to the EU, and 37% for NATO. At the same time, 42% and 42% of respondents voted against the accession, respectively. These data indicate that the open idea of Frei support is counterintuitive, as some of the country's citizens are already more critical of the idea of Ukraine's return to the Euro-Atlantic integration processes. Using his Facebook page, Orbán noted these changes, announcing a "big turn" that, in his opinion, has significant political and cultural significance. In his post, he noted: "Today's news: 'Big turn: Poles no longer want Ukraine to join NATO and the EU'. Europe is waking up!". Such a statement demonstrates the Hungarian prime minister's confidence that the change in public opinion in Poland has important political consequences and may affect the processes of European integration of Central European countries. The political dynamics that are unfolding against the background of this information call into question the stability and unity of open support for Ukraine from its neighbors and partners. At the same time, this trend is causing concern in Kyiv, as it may affect both the course of the negotiation processes and future plans for the country's integration into the European Community and NATO. The change in public sentiment in Poland, which has traditionally been one of the main partners and supporters of Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic orientation, indicates that the political situation in the region leaves much uncertainty and requires constant monitoring and diplomatic efforts. Like any public opinion polls, these data have their own dynamics and are determined by various factors. However, it is obvious that the position of Polish society and the government is no longer as unanimous as before. This puts on the agenda the issue of new challenges for Ukrainian diplomacy and direct partners, as a change in sentiment in the coming months may significantly affect the course of Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic movement. Thus, Viktor Orban's reaction highlights not only changes in Polish society, but also a general trend in Europe, which is increasingly less supportive of the idea of Ukraine's active integration into Western structures. The question remains to what extent these sentiments can be overcome by diplomatic efforts and the intensification of internal processes in the neighboring countries themselves. For now, it can be stated that the situation in the region leaves many events to which it will be difficult not to react, and which in the future will determine Europe's political course towards Ukraine and its integration into Western structures.