Hungary's Orbán sends another strong message about Ukraine's EU accession

Orbán said he had a "frank phone conversation" with his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sánchez, and reiterated his stance that was taken as a kick in the gut by senior EU officials. 

I had a frank phone conversation today with Prime Minister . My message was clear: we should refrain from discussing the issue of Ukraines EU accession during the December , as there is no unity among member states on this matter. @sanchezcastejon

— Orbán (Viktor) December 7, 2023

He told public radio in one of his usual interviews last Friday that

Negotiations with Ukraine on its accession to the EU should not even begin. [...] We need strategic cooperation to bring us closer together. Ukraine's accession should be prepared.

The strategic partnership could go on for as long as five to ten years, and then we can think about how to proceed, he added.

Orbán not only made the above statements, but also firmly rejected the opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine, effectively promising to veto any motion to put the issue on the agenda on 14-15 December.

EU officials and diplomats were taken aback by this, as they believed until last week that the Hungarian PM's threats would not detail the mid-December EU summit and were only about unblocking EU funds for the country that are currently frozen over rule of law deficiencies.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has harshly criticised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for wanting to take the EU accession of Ukraine off the agenda at next week's EU summit. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that Baerbock misunderstands the situation, that the Hungarian position is well-founded and that Ukraine is not yet ready for accession. 

Cover photo: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images