Hungary cannot be avoided on issue of Ukraine’s admission

The process of Ukraine's European Union accession cannot be opened by avoiding Hungary or with legal tricks, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated, answering questions from members of the press on Wednesday in Copenhagen ahead of the informal EU summit.

"I don't think legal tricks will work, I see statements indicating that. All accession processes have been conducted within the same legal procedure so far. The opening and also the closing of every chapter has required the consent of every Member State, this cannot be changed," the Hungarian Prime Minister said.

In this situation, he has silent allies, but there are only a few who openly say so, he added. There was a referendum about Ukraine's EU accession in Hungary, he said in continuation, where the Hungarian people decided not to support it. Hungary, in contrast to many other countries, is a democratic country, "in Hungary, the people decide on important issues."

According to the Hungarian position, we need to conclude a strategic agreement with Ukraine, rather than grant them membership because its accession would mean that the EU would find itself dragged into the Russo-Ukrainian war, and this cannot be allowed to happen. On the other hand, a considerable percentage of EU funds would go to Ukraine. Ukraine is a heroically fighting country, and so it goes without saying that we must support them, he added.

According to his information, at the meeting, three main topics will be on the agenda which they will have to deal with. The first one is that they want to make political decisions, including that the European Union, and so Hungary, too, should recognise the Russo-Ukrainian war as their own. The Polish prime minister initiated this, but the idea is also supported by the President of the Commission.

The second one is that, accordingly, the EU should give Ukraine even more money, while the third topic concerns the acceleration of Ukraine's membership. In consequence of this, the fourth topic is that "we should stop buying oil and gas from Russia," he listed.

"These are all contrary to Hungary's best interests, and I must say no to them. It's called cage fighting. Additionally, they're attacking from every direction now because I have colleagues who disagree with me, there are Commission officials, too, and the opposition at home likewise disagrees with me. So, today will be a difficult, tough day, but we'll cope," he said.

Regarding the fact that the European Union intends to manage the accession processes of Ukraine and Moldova together, Mr Orbán said these are two separate countries. Additionally, Ukraine is not a sovereign country as we do not know where its eastern border lies, we do not know how many people live in it and Ukraine is unable to stand on its own two feet, he added.

"So, if we were to decide tomorrow morning or this afternoon to not give any more money to Ukraine, Ukraine would cease to exist as a state. Therefore, the issue of Ukraine cannot be mixed with anything else," given that the European Union finances Ukraine as a whole, including its army, state administration and pensions, and this is a financial fact, he pointed out. At the same time, he congratulated the winner of the elections in Moldova.

In answer to a question concerning the functioning of the Druzhba oil pipeline, the Prime Minister said it is to be hoped that it will continue to function as it has done to date. From time to time, when the Ukrainians bomb sections on the Russian side, it stops working, but for the time being, it is operational. He observed that he had consulted with the executives of [the oil company] Mol before leaving for Copenhagen, and he was therefore familiar with Mol's position on these issues and would attempt to represent it at the meeting.

Hungary is a sovereign country and decides independently where to buy energy carriers from. Additionally, the primary pipeline comes to Hungary from Russia. While there is another pipeline from the direction of Croatia through which Hungary is able to buy some oil, that is not enough. Due to its geographical position, Hungary has no other option. It is a landlocked country, without a sea shore, he pointed out.

In answer to another question, he stressed that "today, the situation is that a single mistake can trigger a world war. So, it's not that there is a threat that can be gauged in percentage on the basis of a rational calculation, but there is a tense situation riddled with conflicts where if a more formidable player, a country bigger than Hungary makes a mistake, it can turn into anything, a world war even. This is the problem."

Regarding the planned EU drone wall, he said Hungary supports all military cooperation within the European Union. On the other hand, "if something flies into Hungary and it's not one of ours, we shoot it down. Whether there is a drone wall or not."

He also spoke about the fact that his dispute with the Swedish prime minister stemmed from the fact that, on behalf of the Swedish government, the Swedish prime minister had intervened in lawsuits before the European Court of Justice against Hungary in four or five cases. He added that this was a problem, but "we like the Swedes."