Hungary blocking opening of Ukraine's EU accession talks
Hungary has opposed the opening of the first cluster of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said this after an informal meeting of EU ministers in Copenhagen.
It was reported by Index.hu.
According to Szijjártó, Budapest will not allow "Ukraine to be pushed into the EU", as this, in his opinion, threatens Hungarian farmers, the country's food security and creates a risk of penetration by the "Ukrainian mafia". He clarified that this is about blocking the substantive part of the negotiations - specific chapters on accession.
The minister noted that the Hungarian government is being pressured to accelerate Ukraine's accession to the EU and new sanctions against russia, in particular in the energy sector. "We will not succumb to this pressure and will protect the Hungarian people from the negative consequences of war and sanctions," Szijjártó said.
In addition to blocking negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU, he named three more key points of Budapest's position:
- Hungary will support the peace initiatives of former US President Donald Trump, since "only an agreement between the US and Russia can lead to a settlement of the conflict".
- Budapest will not allow Hungarian taxpayers' money to be used to arm or finance the Ukrainian army, which continues to block about HUF 2.5 billion from the European Peace Fund.
- Hungary will not allow its energy security to be at risk, in particular, it will not support sanctions that could increase tariffs and affect the country's key energy companies.
"We will not allow the cost of utilities to increase and we will protect Hungary's energy security", the minister concluded.
Recall that 26 member states of the European Union condemned the attacks of the aggressor country russia on Kyiv, where civilians were killed and civilian objects were damaged. Hungary is not among the signatories of this document.