Espreso Global Accession to the EU Orban calls Ukraine burden, urges EU funds to strengthen economy

Orban calls Ukraine burden, urges EU funds to strengthen economy

Sofia Polonska

6 May, 2025 Tuesday

18:57

Accession to the EU

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated that the allocation of funds for Ukraine is a "huge mistake" by the EU. He argued that these funds should be directed towards the European economy

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The Hungarian Prime Minister said that Ukraine's EU membership is a burden, in contrast to when Budapest was accepted into the bloc, as " it benefited the member states.."

"It was a good deal. The accession of Ukraine is not a good deal. Ukraine is not an added value but a liability," he wrote.

At the same time, Orban called it "a huge mistake" to direct European funds to Ukraine "instead of using them to strengthen the struggling European economy"

Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna announced that Ukraine and Hungary will begin regular consultations on May 12 to resolve all of Budapest's concerns before starting negotiations on Ukraine's EU accession.
On May 2, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban claimed that Hungary would go bankrupt if Ukraine were to join the EU.
On May 5, Orban stated that Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to see a "Ukraine-friendly" government in Hungary, but this will not happen.