Hungarians expressed their opinion on Ukraine's accession to the EU with unprecedented participation rate: more than 2.2 million people voted in the Voks 2025 initiative, and 95 percent of them rejected Kyiv's accelerated admission to the European community. The final result ponts far beyond previous consultations, Erik Toth, research director at the Center for Fundamental Rights, told our newspaper.
Erik Toth said the current expression of opinion is at least as significant in political terms as the national consultation launched during the 2015 migration crisis.
Just like during the migration crisis, Hungary has chosen a unique approach based on gauging public opinion to address the issue of Ukraine’s possible EU membership before 2030,
the researcher explained. Voks 2025 was an unprecedented success in many respects, he said, emphasizing that 2.285 million people took part in the vote, and 95 percent of valid votes were in agreement that the integration of our eastern neighbor is currently running against Hungary's national interests.
He recalled that this level of participation was last seen during the consultation on the so-called “Soros Plan.” More people submitted their votes this time, either online or by mail, than those who cast valid ballots for the five-party opposition alliance in the 2022 parliamentary election.
Erik Toth believes the turnout carries significance both domestically and internationally. "The Hungarian government is the only one that can present a mandate going beyond polling data—true voter authorization—on this issue," adding that public opinion signals a potential new point of national consensus.
From a foreign policy standpoint,
the vote is a strong response to Volodymyr Zelensky, who has made unfriendly statements toward Hungary.
At the same time, Toth believes this figure relays a clear message for the Hungarian political Left and for the operators of smear campaigns by the Tisza Party: twice as many people took part in what they considered a pointless vote as in the discredited Voice of the Nation initiative launched by the Tisza Party.
Brussels Afraid to Ask Its People
Erik Toth criticized the European Commission for not being willing to conduct open consultations with the citizens of EU member states.
If Brussels had the courage to ask other countries’ citizens, similar results would follow. Research by Szazadveg Institute reveals that only ten countries show more than 50 percent support for Ukraine’s early EU accession,
he pointed out.
He believes Ursula von der Leyen and her allies are fully aware that granting EU membership to a country at war comes with enormous risks. That’s why they want to spend as little time as possible on debates about accession.
Ukraine’s membership would mean more debt and unforeseeable financial risks for Europe. Not only Brussels, but also Peter Magyar and Manfred Weber are actively pushing for this,
he added.
Political and Economic Chaos Instead of Integration
Erik Toth warned that Ukraine joining the EU would entail severe political and economic consequences.
We don’t know the size of the country that would be joining, nor how many people live there. Some estimates suggest 15 million fewer than before the war,
he listed concerns.
He also pointed out that
accession would shift the power balance within EU institutions toward federalists, and the economic consequences, such as agricultural subsidies, energy supply, and budget impacts, could be disastrous.
"Ukraine fails to meet any of the EU’s rule-of-law criteria, and the situation of the ethnic Hungarian minority remains unacceptable," he stressed.
Gender, Migration, Pride – „they are not self-serving issues”
According to Toth, Brussels consistently ignores the competence of nation-states and follows an agenda dictated by the Open Society network, especially on migration and gender ideology.
