Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban criticizes Ukraine's intended EU membership plans.
Later today, the EU discussions about admitting Ukraine are set to kick off, but Hungary is far from on board with this plan, as their prime minister has made clear. Specifically,Orban has concerns about the potential impact on agriculture.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has voiced his disapproval of the EU's talks with Ukraine, which are taking place in Luxembourg this afternoon. In an interview with Funke Mediengruppe's newspapers, Orban stated, "Hungary is not in sync with this admission process, but we're not halting it and we're backing the start of negotiations."
Orban believes that these discussions are purely politically driven and not about whether Ukraine should join the EU or not. Rather, he questions what the repercussions would be if Ukraine, a war-torn country whose borders are fuzzy in reality, were admitted to the EU. As Hungary takes over the EU Council presidency on July 1, Orban also raised concerns about the ramifications for the EU's agriculture sector of accepting such a big country. "We're jumping into these talks without clarity, which isn't a good idea," Orban added.
These discussions with Ukraine, which is being attacked by Russia, are happening on the sidelines of an EU ministerial meeting in Luxembourg, alongside similar talks with Moldova, a small country bordering Ukraine. The terms for these talks were agreed upon last week.
The start of these talks was already decided at an EU summit in December. The length of the process following the start of negotiations is unknown. In theory, a candidate country could never become a member. At the moment, Ukraine's EU membership is seen as unlikely until the end of the Russian aggression. If that were the case, Kiev could potentially request military assistance under Article 42, Paragraph 7 of the EU Treaty - and the EU would effectively become a war participant.
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Despite Viktor Orban's criticism, the EU discussions about admitting Ukraine into the union are moving forward, highlighting Hungary's dissenting view within the EU. During a recent interview, Orban expressed concerns about the potential impact of Ukraine's membership on the EU's agriculture sector.
