PM Orban: If Ukraine is Admitted to the EU, So Is the War

As a country that borders Ukraine, we believe that if Ukraine is admitted to the European Union, the war will be admitted along with it, PM Orban said on Monday at a conference of European House Speakers held in the upper chamber of the Hungarian parliament.

PM Viktor Orban delivers a speech at the Conference of EU House Speakers, the closing event of the parliamentary series connected to Hungary’s EU Presidency in the second half of 2024. The event took place in the upper chamber of Hungary's parliament on May 12, 2025. (Photo: MTI/Szilard Koszticsak)

Speaking at the closing conference of parliamentary events in connection with Hungary's 2024 EU presidency, PM Viktor Orban underlined: several EU members want to continue providing support for Ukraine so that that country can carry on with the war. "We are of a different opinion, we think the longer the war goes on the more people will die and the worse the situation on the battlefield," he said.

Mr. Orban epmhasized that the European Commission's proposal to make it mandatory for member states to give up Russian energy supplies because of the war would simply kill the Hungarian economy. 

Just imagine the price of energy suddenly doubling for households and companies … Hungarian families could not cope with that,

 – he said, adding that "Hungarians want peace and would get rid of the policy of economic sanctions as soon as possible." He reiterated that, as a country neighboring Ukraine, Hungary sees that admitting Ukraine into the European Union is tantamount to admitting the war.

He recalled that the EU has never admitted a country  at war, and with good reason. Moreover, Ukraine’s membership would impose an economic burden that the member states could not bear.

He also pointed out that when the Central European countries joined the EU, the existing members benefited as well. But the situation with Ukraine would be different—it would be a bad deal. “It would mean an agricultural crisis, unemployment, indebtedness, and a drop in living standards,” he warned.

Prime Minister Orban asked participants at the conference to engage in dialogue on two strategic issues: the defense of national sovereignty and Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. These issues, he said, will determine the fate of EU member states and the role of national parliaments for decades to come.

He noted that in the United States, the progressive liberal agenda has failed and has been replaced by a patriotic policy, which is having serious international consequences. According to Mr. Orban, what is happening in America is not merely an “electoral accident” but the start of a new era: the U.S., which for 80 years was committed to maintaining the liberal international order, has now begun dismantling that order, no longer seeing it as serving its interests.

Meanwhile—he continued—China is advancing rapidly, and is now competitive not just in industrial capacity, but also in terms of the level of technology. India, too, is preparing to step onto the global stage. As the most populous country in the world, it possesses all the attributes needed to become a global power center comparable to China.

Mr. Orban argued that national parliaments are the historical arenas and laboratories for developing European constitutionalism and democracy. The common European values so often cited in Brussels were, in fact, born in the chambers and corridors of national parliaments, he said.

PM Orban emphasized that over the past 15 years, whenever Europe has faced a problem, Brussels always responded the same way: more power to Brussels, less room for nation-states. As a result, the problem never got smaller, it only deepened, citing examples such as the financial crisis, migration, the energy crisis, and the war.

Mr. Orban declared that those who resist centralization and the creeping transfer of powers—those who defend the framework of the nation-state—are threatened with cuts to EU funding. If that doesn't work, Brussels works to render national governments ungovernable, intervenes, and attempts to bring them down—installing “agent parties” that surrender national sovereignty and align with Brussels, he said.

They tried this in Hungary in 2018 and again in 2022—unsuccessfully. Now, they are trying for the third time,” he noted.

 – he noted. 

He went on to say that the situation has now deteriorated to the point that such efforts are openly admitted. “They want to deliberately damage Hungary’s economy so that, instead of a national government, they can install a puppet government that serves Brussels’ interests,” he said.

The EU’s founding fathers did not create the EU for this purpose, as such efforts will only make Europe weaker, not stronger, he added.

Viktor Orban also addressed what he called “Brussels' growing NGO scandal,” in which the Brussels bureaucracy has channeled hundreds of millions of euros in public funds to organizations that act as advocates and lobbyists for a federal Europe. He called this nothing less than “an attempted coup against national parliaments.” 

He said the key question is what national parliaments can do “against Brussels' supranational steamroller.” He drew attention to a resolution adopted by the Hungarian parliament on the future of the EU. This resolution, among other things, calls for eliminating the principle of “ever closer union” from the treaties, enshrining Europe’s Christian roots and culture in those treaties, ensuring the political and ideological neutrality of the European Commission, and reinforcing the principle of subsidiarity.

If we truly want to build a strong Europe, national parliaments must not be assigned a leading role, not a supporting role. We, as delegates of national parliaments, have a duty to embrace that role, and we Hungarians are ready to do so. Make Europe Great Again,

– Mr. Orban said, in conclusion of his speech.

Cover photo: PM Viktor Orban delivers a speech at the Conference of EU House Speakers, the closing event of the parliamentary series connected to Hungary’s EU Presidency in the second half of 2024. The event took place in the upper chamber of Hungary's parliament on May 12, 2025. Behind Mr. Orban is House speaker Laszlo Kover (Photo: MTI/Szilard Koszticsak)