Zelenski, direct appeal to Viktor Orban: “At least don't block us”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday asked Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban “not to block” his country's accession to the European Union, reports AFP.

Launched with great fanfare following the Russian invasion, Ukraine's EU accession process has been stalled for several months.

“We would very much like the Hungarian prime minister to support us or at least not block us,” he said during a forum on the expansion of the EU bloc organized by Euronews in Brussels.

The long and complex accession process requires the unanimous agreement of the 27 EU member states at each new stage. However, the Hungarian prime minister de facto froze the accession process by using his right of veto, notes Agerpres.

Viktor Orban, who has a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, says Ukraine's EU membership would “ruin” the bloc.

Without the approval of the Hungarian leader, no progress in this process is possible.

“I don't think I have anything to offer Viktor Orban,” Zelenskiy said Tuesday, referring to the deadlock. “I think Viktor Orban has something to offer Ukraine, which is currently protecting the whole of Europe from Russia,” the leader from Kiev also said.

Viktor Orban has never hidden his opposition to this candidacy, stating, for a multitude of reasons, that Ukraine – a neighboring country – is not ready to join the EU.

For several years, this opposition remained discreet.

In a diplomatic gesture that became famous in December 2023, he even agreed to withdraw from the summit of 27 EU leaders while his counterparts decided to open negotiations with Kiev.

These negotiations officially began on June 25, 2024.

With only a few months before Hungary's legislative elections, however, the already sensitive issue of Ukraine has become explosive, while Ukraine's accession to the 27-nation bloc continues to stall.