Hungary warns against fast-tracked EU membership for Ukraine

BUDAPEST, Hungary

A top Hungarian official on Thursday warned that the European Union’s push to speed up Ukraine’s accession process goes against Hungary’s national interests, citing significant risks to the economy, agriculture, and public safety.

“Brussels is thinking in terms of a very fast process,” Gergely Gulyas, the minister responsible for the prime minister's office, told a press briefing. He said such a move could divert EU cohesion funds from Hungary and disrupt food markets, the labor sector, and law enforcement capacities.

He also questioned the credibility of EU-funded opinion polls that suggest public support in Hungary for Ukraine’s EU accession. “These surveys do not reflect the real views of the Hungarian people. They serve political purposes,” he said. In response, he said, the Hungarian government will launch a national consultation next week, sending voting forms to households.

Gulyas’s remarks align with Hungary’s broader cautious stance toward Ukraine’s integration with Western institutions. Since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government has avoided sending military aid to Ukraine and has maintained closer ties with Russia than most EU and NATO members.

Hungary has also delayed joint EU funding packages for Kyiv and objected to Ukraine’s high-level participation in NATO meetings, citing concerns over the treatment of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine and potential risks to national sovereignty.

Budapest argues that Ukraine is not ready for EU membership due to ongoing territorial disputes, economic instability, and institutional challenges. Hungarian officials have repeatedly said that admitting a country at war, with undefined borders and significant reconstruction costs, would put an unfair burden on existing EU member states.

European leaders granted Ukraine EU candidate status in June 2022 and agreed to open accession talks in December 2023.