Ukraine will join European Union with or without Orbán – Zelenskyy
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine will become a member of the European Union regardless of the position of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Source: Zelenskyy during a press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, quoted by Ukrinform, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Speaking on Monday 6 October, Zelenskyy said he is confident that the Hungarian people support Ukraine in any case.
"Ukraine will be in the European Union, with or without Orbán, because that is the choice of the Ukrainian people," he emphasised.
Zelenskyy commented on the possibility of the rules of procedure being changed so that a unanimous decision would not be required for EU enlargement.
"Changing the procedure means finding a way without [Hungary – ed.]. When the majority – all the countries except Hungary – support Ukraine, they understand how this needs to be done," he said.
Zelenskyy also pointed out that Ukraine has fulfilled all the technical requirements for the opening of the first cluster in its EU membership negotiations.
Background:
- Orbán recently claimed again that Hungarians do not want to be in the same union as Ukrainians because they do not want to "share their fate" – and Ukrainians, he said, are fated to border Russia. The Hungarian prime minister also said he does not believe that Ukraine is a sovereign state, as its bills are paid by the European Union.
- Zelenskyy believes there are domestic political reasons for Hungary's blocking of Ukraine's further movement towards EU membership.
- The European Commission says that the opening of clusters for Ukraine without Orbán's consent "could be considered", but the decision must be made by EU member states.
Read also: Getting round Orbán: how to unblock Ukraine's road to the EU
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