Hungary FM: EU Policy of Escalating the War Is Unacceptable

The minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade responded to Brussels's proposal for a 72-hour survival kit. Peter Szijjarto emphasized that not one EU member state, nor the Union as a whole, currently faces any threat of war, including from Russia. He stated that the real danger of escalation stems from Brussels's pro-war policies.

Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto at a joint press conference with North Macedonian Foreign Minister Timcho Mucunski on March 24, 2025, (Photo: MTI/Boglarka Bodnar)

According to Peter Szijjarto, the promotion video on the survival kit clearly demonstrates why the EU has lost its credibility, competitiveness and position and influence in global politics. He believes the proposal is part of "an absurd and completely unfounded hysteria campaign, devoid of all aspects and components of common sense," driven by the EU’s pro-war politicians.

Today, the EU launches its new #Preparedness Strategy.

“Ready for anything” — this must be our new European way of life. Our motto and #hashtag. pic.twitter.com/fA1z8ZvMDA

— Hadja Lahbib (@hadjalahbib) March 26, 2025

He argued that European leaders cannot accept their exclusion from peace negotiations, the failure of their policies over the past three years which have caused considerable damage to members of the EU and to Ukraine, nor the fact that the U.S. president now supports peace with the U.S. and Russia viewing each other as parties in the negotiations. According to Szijjarto, it has become evident that only a U.S.-Russia agreement can lead to peace.

Szijjarto insisted that European politicians should support the U.S. president’s peace efforts rather than obstructing negotiations.

Instead of undermining the path to peace talks, they should be supporting them,

 he stated. 

He suggested that economic motives might be driving the EU’s continued pro-war stance, or that "the European elite are delaying accountability for the consequences of their botched pro-war policies which have resulted in hardship for ordinary European citizens in their daily lives". He blamed leaders for war-induced inflation, sanctions-driven price hikes, rising energy and food costs, and the depletion of military stockpiles.

If peace talks were to succeed quickly, pro-war politicians would have to face the legitimate question of why they have spent the last three years advocating for the prolongation and expansion of the war, rather than an to the fighting, he said.

The foreign minister also questioned the whereabouts of the hundreds of billions of euros given to Ukraine under the guise of a loan, claiming that even Ukrainian officials admit they cannot sustain their military or operation of the state independently.

He warned that integrating Ukraine into the EU at an accelerated pace would pose "unprecedented financial, economic, and security risks," but pro-war EU politicians ignore these dangers. 

He also stressed that Ukraine’s accession requires unanimous approval from all 27 EU member states, including Hungary, and noted that Hungarian citizens will have the chance to express their views in an opinion vote to beheld next month on the EU's aggressive and dangerous push for Ukraine membership.

Szijjarto accused Manfred Weber, leader of the European People’s Party (EPP), of instructing its Hungarian affiliate, the Tisza Party, to fabricate - at any cost - the illusion that Hungarians support Ukraine’s rapid EU accession.

"A Ukraine-supporting petition campaign is currently underway in Hungary to create the false impression that the Hungarian people back Ukraine’s swift entry into the EU," he said, reasserting that the true public sentiment will be revealed in the upcoming opinion vote.

Cover photo: Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto at a joint press conference with North Macedonian Foreign Minister Timcho Mucunski on March 24, 2025, (Photo: MTI/Boglarka Bodnar)