Ukraine's EU bid would "import war," weaken bloc — Hungarian FM Szijjártó

He said this in an interview with CNN.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has reiterated his government’s strong opposition to Ukraine joining the European Union, arguing that Kyiv’s accession would not strengthen the bloc but instead bring conflict to its doorstep. He insisted that new EU members should reinforce the union, but claimed that Ukraine, currently at war with Russia, would only “import war into the European Union”—a scenario he says no one wants.

“Ukraine will definitely not make the European Union stronger—quite the opposite,” Szijjártó stated. “A country at war imports war into the EU, which we do not want. Ukraine’s current situation would only weaken the European Union.”

Szijjártó also criticized the billions of euros allocated to support Ukraine, calling it “unfair” and arguing that Hungarian taxpayers’ money should not be spent on aid to Kyiv. “As far as we’re concerned, we do not want Hungarian taxpayers’ money going to Ukraine. Under the current circumstances, we absolutely do not support Ukraine’s EU membership,” he said.

Despite this stance, Szijjártó pointed out that Hungary remains Ukraine’s main electricity supplier and continues to assist Ukrainian refugees. However, he emphasized that Budapest will not back Ukraine’s bid to join the EU. “You say we don’t support Ukraine, but we are helping them in many ways. Still, we are not ready to ruin Hungary. The Hungarian people have paid the price of this war for too long, even though we bear no responsibility. This is not our war,” the minister concluded.

Pro-Russian Hungary blocks Ukraine’s path to EU membership

Hungary is currently blocking the start of negotiations for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been fueling anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Hungary. Orbán recently sparked controversy when he failed to locate Ukraine on a map.

Despite these obstacles, Ukraine remains determined to fully meet the criteria for EU membership by 2027. According to former Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine is adhering to the established timeline and continues to move forward on its path to membership.

Stefanishyna also recently emphasized that all negotiation clusters for Ukraine’s EU accession should be opened by the end of 2025.