Viktor Orban reiterates opposition to EU accession negotiations with Ukraine
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has reiterated his opposition to a decision to open EU accession negotiations with Ukraine immediately before the EU summit. Seven preconditions had been set and even according to the EU Commission's analysis, three of them had not been met, Orban said on his arrival in Brussels on Thursday. There was therefore nothing to discuss at present. They would have to come back to it when the conditions had been met.
At the same time, the Hungarian Prime Minister made it clear that he is also against creating a new instrument via the EU budget to provide financial support to Ukraine, which is under attack from Russia. This should be done outside of the budget, Orban said, arguing that, in his view, there was no time pressure. The interim solution was already in the budget, Orban said.
Orban categorically rejected accusations that he wanted to use the blockade to free up EU funds for his country that had been frozen due to rule of law deficits. "This is not about a deal. This is not about a deal," he said. Hungary stands for principles.
Around 21 billion euros in EU funds for Hungary are currently still frozen. Until shortly before the summit, it had been more than 30 billion euros. On Wednesday, however, the EU Commission announced that it would release around ten billion euros due to completed judicial reforms.
Orban's position is particularly problematic because he can rely on a summit resolution from June 2022 with regard to the EU accession negotiations with Ukraine. This states that further steps in the accession process should only be decided once "all these conditions have been fully met".
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- Despite the EU Commission's analysis suggesting that only three out of seven preconditions for EU accession negotiations with Ukraine have been met, the EU summit was expected to discuss this matter, prompting Viktor Orban's reiteration of his opposition to an immediate start of negotiations.
- Before the EU summit, Prime Minister Orban had expressed his opposition to the creation of a new EU budget instrument to provide financial aid to Ukraine, emphasizing that this should be handled outside of the budget due to no perceived time pressure.
- Prior to the EU summit, Hungary's Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, denied accusations that his opposition to EU accession negotiations with Ukraine was used as a tactic to release EU funds frozen due to rule of law deficits in Hungary.
Source: www.ntv.de
