At the EU summit on Thursday, June 26th, member states failed to unanimously adopt a statement in support of Ukraine after a veto by Hungarian conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The document calls for the support of Ukraine’s progress on its path to EU integration, and the EU’s readiness to open the first negotiation chapters.
However, formal negotiations can only begin with the unanimous consent of all 27 member states.
Following the EU summit, Viktor Orbán said that “anyone who brings Ukraine into the European Union is also bringing the war with it, and anyone who admits Ukraine into NATO will immediately find themselves at war with Russia.”
The prime minister argued that the most important criterion for any country wanting to join the EU is that that country “should have a clearly defined identity, with borders, a population, and territory.” He added that “in the case of Ukraine, none of this exists today,” as much of Ukraine’s territory is occupied by Russia.
Viktor Orbán also pointed out that over 2 million Hungarians, 95% of voters, had recently voted in a public consultation against letting Ukraine into the EU.
Responding separately to a post on X by the European Commission President in which she said Ukraine “merits” accession, Balázs Orbán, the political director of the Prime Minister, commented:
