Orban says Hungary has stopped Ukraine’s EU accession: official position of Hungarian government
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has publicly announced that the results of the so-called "referendum" on Ukraine's possible membership in the European Union, held at the initiative of the local government, have effectively stopped Ukraine's further movement towards the European community. This means that heated discussions about the prospects of Ukrainian accession have gained new momentum, and Budapest's official position is now mostly against it. According to Prime Minister Orban, his decision was driven by awareness of the difficult situation around Ukraine. He admitted that Hungary "understands the Ukrainians and appreciates their heroic resistance", but noted that assistance must be done carefully so as not to harm itself. "We want support, but at the same time we are trying to avoid a large-scale confrontation that could result in a disruption of the stability of our country. For Ukraine, EU membership would mean, in fact, transforming our country into a conflict zone with Russia, which would lead to the introduction of military action already on the territory of the European Union, and, in particular, in Hungary," he explained. The Telex source reports that it was thanks to more than two million votes collected during the "referendum" on the Voks2025 platform that the Hungarian government decided to stop the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU. According to him, these results "sent a signal that we cannot and should not go any further" on this issue. Orbán, in turn, emphasized that Ukraine currently remains an "undefined entity," as it still raises many questions about its defined border status and future. The Prime Minister stressed that historically, many former Soviet countries, including those that were part of the former Soviet Union, received security guarantees and recognition through NATO membership, and only later began to integrate into the European Union. "In this context, it is important to understand that Ukraine cannot join NATO now, because this would mean an immediate escalation of the conflict and a direct war with Russia. Therefore, the likelihood of its rapid accession to both structures is clearly and unequivocally zero," Orbán noted. It should be noted that on the eve of the European Union summit, 26 member states, including Hungary, confirmed their support for further negotiations on recognizing Ukraine as a candidate for accession and agreed to take note of the European Commission's assessment that Ukraine is not currently ready for the official opening of the "Foundations" cluster in the European integration process. In addition, on Thursday, on the eve of the publication of the official results of the "referendum", the Hungarian government made a statement about the final results of the vote. According to their data, 95% of those who took part in the referendum opposed Ukraine's accession to the European Union. This was another confirmation of the significant political position of Budapest, which openly opposes the rapid advancement of the Ukrainian issue in the Brussels format. In general, this step of the Hungarian Prime Minister caused many contradictory assessments in EU political circles and in Ukraine itself. At the same time, it became an additional signal that the first signs of a split are already appearing in the European community regarding Ukraine's further path to broad European integration, and that individual countries, primarily Hungary, will maintain their independent position, guided by national interests and security aspects.