The Hungarian Prime Minister responded sharply to the EPP President’s call to end unanimity and isolate Budapest.Continue reading
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced in Brussels that Hungary had blocked Ukraine’s accession to the EU, citing the results of the Voks2025 referendum.
He said that the other Member State leaders had reacted with opposition to the Hungarian announcement, as they considered Ukraine’s membership – and later its accession to NATO – to be desirable. Prime Minister Orbán, on the other hand, believes that “whoever accepts Ukraine into the EU is also accepting war.”
In his view, Ukraine’s NATO membership would lead to direct military conflict with Russia.
The Prime Minister emphasized that Hungary is approaching the issue from a peaceful perspective, while other states are taking a more belligerent stance toward war. Only Slovakia and Hungary represent the position that there is no military solution to the conflict. Viktor Orbán emphasized that when the former Soviet bloc countries were admitted to the EU, they first became NATO members, as the EU is not a military alliance and cannot defend its eastern borders.
Orbán believes that Ukraine does not currently meet the basic conditions for statehood: it has no defined and secure borders, many people have fled, and its economy is in a state of war, making it impossible to build a long-term strategy.
According to the Prime Minister, the leaders of the European Commission and the European People’s Party, including Ursula von der Leyen and Manfred Weber, are working to establish a pro-Ukrainian government in Hungary that is subordinate to Brussels. When they are confronted with the Hungarian national position, it “hits them like a cold shower,” Orbán said.
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, responded sharply to the statement by the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the Hungarian people have no right to decide whether to support Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. The Minister believes that this is a serious mistake.
Dear Ukrainian colleagues, the situation is as follows: it is not you, not President Zelenskyy, nor the Ukrainian government who will decide whether to join the European Union, but we, the citizens of the European Union, including Hungarians,”
FM Szijjártó said.
The MFA of Ukraine said yesterday that the Hungarian people have no right to decide whether they support Ukraine’s accession to the EU. Well, the MFA of Ukraine is wrong.
Dear Ukrainian colleagues, it’s not you, not @ZelenskyyUa, and not the Ukrainian government who decides on…
— Péter Szijjártó (@FM_Szijjarto) June 26, 2025
He emphasized that Hungary does not wish to integrate with a country that poses a threat of war, jeopardizes energy security, and has already seriously damaged its agricultural sector. He specifically criticized Kyiv for regularly violating the rights of the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia (Ukraine), adding: “Do not be misled by the fact that a few MEPs delegated from Hungary occasionally run around Brussels wearing Ukrainian flags!”
Via MTI; Featured photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Kommunikációs Fõosztály/Fischer Zoltán