Hungary will stick to its stance that the EU must not start membership talks with Ukraine but should aim for a strategic partnership instead, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in an interview with local website Mandiner broadcast on Wednesday.
He also reiterated that the issue should be taken off the agenda of the EU summit this week as Hungary will not approve the start of accession talks with Ukraine.
“The EU is preparing to make a terrible mistake and we must prevent that even if 26 (members) want to make the mistake,” Orban said in the interview.
“If we want to give support to Ukraine, a geostrategic signal, then we should, but this is not membership.”
It is not the first time Hungary has been at odds with its EU partners. It watered down sanctions against Russia and last December vetoed a deal to grant Ukraine 18 billion euros in 2023.
Budapest eventually allowed that assistance through after haggling for days over EU aid to Hungary, which had been blocked over concerns of democratic backsliding under Orban.
