Orban left no hope for Ukraine. An eloquent comment from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has spoken on the possibility of Ukraine joining the European Union. He stated that Ukraine's status is ambiguous, so the topic of membership should not arise in the coming years. Ukraine has already responded to the controversial words of the prime minister.
Sep 30, 2023 | updated: 9:07 AM EDT, October 5, 2023
On June 23, 2022, at the summit of the European Council, EU leaders granted Ukraine candidate country status. At the same time, they called on the European Commission to present a report on the fulfilment of the conditions that the EC indicated in its opinion on Ukraine's membership application within the regular enlargement package.
Controversial words of Orban
As described by the independent Belarusian news portal Nexta, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has now decided to speak on the issue of Ukraine's potential entry into the European Union. The politician stated that "the size of Ukraine is unknown", which prevents its admission into the union.
Orban believes that the basis for being able to conduct talks about Ukraine's admission to the Union, is knowledge of its parameters, including its size and population.
- We do not know how large this country's territory is, as the war is still ongoing. We do not know how large its population is because people are fleeing. Admitting the country to the EU without knowing its parameters would be unprecedented - stated the Hungarian Prime Minister.
Furthermore, Orban called Ukraine's plans to join the European Union "ambitious," while also warning Kyiv not to expect to achieve its goal within the next two years.
- When I'm in the session hall, I don't feel an overwhelming desire for the Hungarian parliament to vote for Ukraine's accession to the European Union within two years. So, I would be cautious with such ambitious plans - Orban stated.
Ukraine quickly responds to words from Hungary
The controversial words spoken by Orban quickly reached Ukraine, which decided to respond to them. Kyiv briefly summed up the allegations, claiming that the ongoing war has not changed anything on the map of Europe.
"Ukraine has not changed its territory within internationally recognized borders" - stated the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, refuting the sense of Hungarian arguments.
Progress status
The European Commission is to present a report at the end of October on the progress made by Ukraine and make a decision on whether or not to start accession negotiations.
The matter is to be brought up at the December EU summit.
Source: WP News / PAP
