Hungary refuses to support accession talks and changes to the EU budget with 50 billion euros for Ukraine

Hungary will not support any proposal by the European Union to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the bloc, nor will it support amendments to the EU budget that include 50 billion euros in aid to Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff Gergely Gulyás said on Thursday, UNN reports citing AP.

Details

Gergely Gulyás said at a press conference in Budapest that it was premature to start official talks with Kyiv on the war-torn country's accession to the EU, and that Hungary would not agree to open talks during a meeting of EU leaders in mid-December.

"We are dealing with a completely premature proposal," Gulyás said, adding that Hungary "cannot contribute to a common decision" to invite Ukraine to start the process of joining the bloc.

On Thursday, Gulyás also said that Hungary would not support proposed amendments to the EU budget, part of which would provide 50 billion euros in aid to Ukraine over four years.

He said that the EU was "illegally" withholding Hungary's funds, and that the government would thus refuse to support any budget amendment.

Addendum

Earlier this month, the European Commission recommended that Ukraine be allowed to start membership talks, but with a number of requirements.

But in matters related to the acceptance of a new country into the bloc, the newspaper notes, unanimity among all EU member states is required, "giving the nationalist Orban a powerful veto."

His government has long maintained an antagonistic approach to Ukraine, strongly opposing EU sanctions against Russia over its invasion and delaying financial aid packages to Kyiv, the newspaper recalls.

Orban, considered one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies in Europe, has argued that accession talks should not start with a country at war and that Ukraine's membership would reorient the system the 27-nation European Union uses to distribute funds to member states.

Earlier this month, Orban said that Ukraine is "light years" away from joining the bloc, giving another signal that his government will be the main obstacle to Kyiv's ambitions at a meeting of EU heads of state and government in Brussels next month, the newspaper writes.

The EU has frozen billions in funding for Budapest over the Orban government's alleged failure to comply with EU rule of law and corruption standards.

Hungary insists that it does not link the frozen EU funds to other issues, but, the newspaper points out, many in Brussels see its veto threats over Ukraine's aid and membership as an attempt to blackmail the bloc into releasing the withheld funds.