Hungary’s PM won’t hesitate to block Ukraine’s EU seat

In a dramatic reversal in Brussels on Thursday, Orbán left the room where the leaders of the EU’s 27 member nations were debating the measure and allowed a unanimous vote of 26 to approve the start of accession talks for Kyiv

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Friday his country will have plenty of opportunities in the future to interrupt Ukraine’s process of joining the European Union, the day after the right-wing leader’s stunning turnaround allowed an EU summit to move forward on bringing the war-torn country into the bloc.

Orban had spent weeks vigorously declaring that his country would not consent to the EU beginning talks with Ukraine on its eventual membership, arguing such a decision would be catastrophic and that Kyiv was unprepared to begin the process. 

In a dramatic reversal in Brussels on Thursday, Orban left the room where the leaders of the EU’s 27 member nations were debating the measure and allowed a unanimous vote of 26 to approve the start of accession talks for Kyiv.

In an interview Friday with Hungarian state radio, Orban said that EU leaders told him he would “lose nothing” by dropping his veto since he’d have chances in the future to block Ukraine’s accession if he chose to—something he vowed to do if it appeared Hungary’s interests were at risk.

26
No. of EU nations that approve inclusion of Ukraine

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