Hungary blocks the way from Ukraine to the EU

Main information

• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán claims that his country is the only one to decide the fate of Ukraine within the EU.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claims massive support for public opinion in a survey, which contradicts the results of the Orbán National Survey.
• Orbán rejects any external attempt to influence the decision and maintains his right of veto within the EU.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán firmly said that Hungary was the only one to be able to determine its position on Ukraine’s membership in the EU, rejecting the claims of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Orbán pointed out that the decision returned to the Hungarian people, and not to external influences such as kyiv or the bureaucrats of Brussels.

Zelensky, referring to a survey carried out by the Hungarian opposition party Tisza, said that public opinion massively supported Ukraine’s candidacy to the EU, which contradicts the Orbán’s own national poll, which has given opposite results. Zelensky accused Orbán of manipulating the survey and politicizing the question before the Hungarian elections of 2026 to support his own position.

Responding to the accusations of Zelensky, Orbán said that Hungarian citizens would ultimately decide the fate of Ukraine in the EU, rejecting any external attempt to influence their decision. He reiterated the right of veto of Hungary within the EU, effectively blocking the membership negotiations of Ukraine until Budapest’s concerns concerning the treatment of Ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine are taken into account.

Orbán’s position on Ukraine has aroused criticism, in particular his continuous relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite the current war. He has blocked or delayed several times the help of the EU in Ukraine and criticized the sanctions against Russia. Its internal policies have also been the subject of a meticulous examination for having suppressed dissent and reduced civil freedoms.

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