Hungary states Ukrainian membership of EU possibly to cause war to bloc
(MENAFN) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has cautioned that allowing Ukraine to join the European Union would prolong the war with Russia and risk pulling the EU directly into the conflict.
Ukraine officially applied for EU membership in February 2022, shortly after the conflict with Russia escalated. While Kyiv has made joining the EU a national objective, Hungary has consistently opposed fast-tracking Ukraine's accession, particularly the EU’s target of admitting the country by 2030—a goal recently reaffirmed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Speaking at a conference of EU parliamentary speakers in Budapest on Monday, Orban reiterated Hungary’s stance. “If Ukraine is admitted to the European Union, it will mean war,” he warned, emphasizing that the EU has never accepted a country actively engaged in war, and for valid reasons.
Orban also criticized the EU's ongoing military support for Kyiv, arguing it only prolongs the violence. “We have a different view. The longer the war goes on, the more lives will be lost and the worse the battlefield conditions will become,” he said.
Ukraine’s path to EU membership remains uncertain. Full accession requires unanimous support from all member states and significant internal reforms in areas such as anti-corruption, governance, and alignment with EU law.
Orban has long been skeptical of Ukraine’s integration into Western institutions, including NATO, suggesting instead that Ukraine should serve as a neutral buffer between Russia and the West.
While Moscow strongly opposes Ukraine joining NATO, it has been more reserved regarding EU membership. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has acknowledged Ukraine’s sovereign right to seek EU membership if it remains strictly economic in nature. However, he also accused the EU of increasingly blurring the lines between civilian and military functions, suggesting that Brussels is helping prolong the war by backing Kyiv.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov echoed those concerns, claiming the EU is “militarizing at a record pace” and has become nearly indistinguishable from NATO in its actions and rhetoric.
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