EU Never Discussed Strategic Consequences of Ukraine's Accession - Hungarian PM
16:05 GMT 06.10.2023 (Updated: 16:17 GMT 06.10.2023)
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The European Union has never discussed the actual consequences of Ukraine's European integration, and it is impossible to talk about its accession to the bloc without drawing up strategic documents and thoroughly discussing the consequences of that move first, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated on Friday.
"First, we have to consider whether it [Ukraine's accession to the EU] is in our interest or not, and what kind of answers we have to the strategic consequences of that enlargement. We have never done it. So, we don't see any strategic calculations and no major estimation of the consequences. First - strategic approach, second - discussion, third - decision," Orban told reporters on day 2 of the European Political Community summit in Spain's Granada.
Ukraine's potential EU membership raises many questions and doubts, as the EU has never before integrated a country in conflict, the Hungarian prime minister added. The EU does not know where Ukraine's current borders lie and how many people live there; therefore, a strategic discussion is needed that would result in a conclusion put on paper, including from the financial standpoint, the prime minister stressed.
"We have to understand why it is good for the European Union to integrate Ukraine and what are the consequences of that on agriculture, on security, on the cohesion fund. A totally new agriculture will be born out of the membership of Ukraine in Europe. Are you ready for that? Are French peasants ready for that? [There are] many strategic questions," Orban emphasized.
6 October 2023, 12:36 GMT
Earlier this year, Orban said that the Hungarian parliament would be unwilling to vote for Kiev's accession to the EU within the coming two years. Hungary will not support Ukraine's position on any issue at international forums until Kiev returns laws guaranteeing the rights of its ethnic Hungarian minority in the Zakarpatye Region, he added.
The third summit of the European Political Community and the Informal Meeting of Heads of State or Government are taking place from Thursday to Friday in the Spanish city of Granada. The attendees discussed the future enlargement of the EU and the potential accession of formal candidates, including Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, as well as Turkiye.
