Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced in Brussels that Hungary has blocked Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, citing the results of the Voks2025 referendum. Orbán stated that other Member State leaders opposed Hungary’s decision, as they view Ukraine’s membership in both the EU and later NATO as desirable. However, Orbán believes that “whoever accepts Ukraine into the EU is also accepting war,” arguing that Ukraine’s NATO membership would lead to direct military conflict with Russia.
Orbán emphasized Hungary’s peaceful approach to the issue, contrasting it with what he perceives as a more belligerent stance from other states. He highlighted that only Slovakia and Hungary maintain that there is no military solution to the ongoing conflict. Orbán also pointed out that former Soviet bloc countries became NATO members before joining the EU, as the EU is not a military alliance and cannot defend its eastern borders.
According to Orbán, Ukraine currently lacks the basic conditions for statehood, citing undefined borders, a significant refugee population, and a war-torn economy, which he believes makes long-term strategy impossible.
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, sharply rebuked the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ statement that the Hungarian people have no right to decide on Ukraine’s EU accession. Szijjártó asserted, “it is not you, not President Zelenskyy, nor the Ukrainian government who will decide whether to join the European Union, but we, the citizens of the European Union, including Hungarians.” He added that Hungary does not wish to integrate with a country that poses a threat of war, jeopardizes energy security, and has harmed its agricultural sector. Szijjártó also criticized Kyiv for allegedly violating the rights of the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia.