If Ukraine is admitted to the EU, war will also break out.
(Baonghean.vn) - This is a statement from the Foreign Minister of Hungary - a member state of the EU. According to the diplomat, Kyiv is not fit to join the bloc.
According to RT, speaking about the EU expansion proposal announced by the European Commission (EC) in Lisbon on November 8, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that the conditions simply do not qualify Ukraine for membership in the European Union.
According to Hungarian media, Szijjarto said: “By allowing Ukraine to join, the EU will also see war, which is obviously something nobody wants. Expansion should aim to spread peace, not bring war into the EU.”
He said it would be “absurd” for Brussels to assess Ukraine’s progress in implementing reforms, the rule of law, or any other membership criteria in the context of the ongoing conflict.
Szijjarto noted: “Yes, there is a war in Ukraine, so we can see that neither freedom of the press nor freedom of speech is being enforced, and we can see that elections are not being held either.”
Budapest's consistent position is that Ukraine needs to restore the rights of the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia to the level they had in 2015, before Kyiv launched its attempt to strip Russian-speaking citizens of their citizenship.
The Foreign Minister concluded: “Since, according to the European Commission, Ukraine has not met the conditions set for membership, we do not consider any further steps in relation to accession negotiations with Ukraine to be timely.”
According to Szijjarto, the bloc is facing serious security and economic challenges and is becoming increasingly weak, so if it wants to recruit new members as a way to regain strength, it should instead turn to the Western Balkan countries - first and foremost Serbia.
On November 8, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recommended opening “accession talks” with both Ukraine and Moldova, and upgrading the former Soviet republic of Georgia to the status of a full candidate.
According to an EC report, negotiations with Ukraine will begin after Kyiv meets the remaining demands related to the fight against corruption, adopts EU-compliant lobbying legislation, and “strengthens protections” for ethnic minorities.
The EU has not admitted any new members since Croatia in 2013. Earlier this year, Brussels outlined a rather vague plan to expand the bloc by 2030, targeting the remains of former Yugoslavia, Albania, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.