Peter Magyar, Take Note! – Overwhelming Majority of Hungarians Oppose Ukraine’s EU Accession

A survey by Szazadveg Foundation shows broad, cross-party rejection of Kyiv’s EU ambitions.

Photo: MTI/EPA/Stephanie Lecocq

Ukraine’s potential European Union membership has become a central topic in both Hungarian and European public discourse, with many political figures expressing their opinions, arguing for or against it, reads the latest  study by Szazadveg Foundation. At the March 20 EU summit, Prime Minister Viktor Orban vetoed the joint statement on Ukraine, which—beyond endorsing the continuation of war-related sanctions, arms deliveries, and further financial aid for Ukraine—also called for the forced expediting of Ukraine’s EU accession. In its latest public opinion poll, Szazadveg sought to gauge the Hungarian population’s views on Ukraine’s EU membership.

Ukraine's membership would bring heavy burdens

As a starting point, it is important to emphasize that, during the first three years of the Russia–Ukraine war, Hungary faced economic burdens amounting to approximately 9,100 billion forints as a consequence of the armed conflict, as highlighted in previous Szazadveg analyses.

Ukraine’s potential fast-tracked accession to the European Union would bring further financial burdens (estimated by Szazadveg at nearly half a million forints per household annually), along with other risks, such as public security and public health concerns.

Cross-party rejection

The survey results reveal that Hungarian public opinion clearly perceives these risks and strongly opposes supporting Ukraine’s swift EU accession within the current regulatory and institutional framework. The survey found that a significant majority of Hungarians—71 percent—believe that under the current economic and political circumstances, Ukraine’s accession to the EU cannot be responsibly supported. In contrast, only 25 percent of respondents expressed support for it, while 4 percent did not provide an answer.

Looking at the voter base of the individual political parties, it can be seen that this high level of rejection cuts across political leanings whether it is the supporters of the Fidesz and Christian Democrats (93 percent), Our Homeland Movement (95 percent), Tisza Party (52 percent) or even the Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party (MKKP) (59 percent). 

Only Democratic Coalition (DK) voters showed majority support for Ukraine's EU membership with 29 percent of its supporters against and 68 percent in favor of it.

Cover photo: Illustration (Photo: MTI/EPA/Stephanie Lecocq)