Tensions Flare Up in Brussels After Viktor Orban's Announcement

Brussels is deeply upset by the results of the consultative survey Voks 2025, which showed that an overwhelming majority of Hungarians reject Ukraine’s EU accession. According to the Hungarian outlet Mandiner, tensions were palpable during closed-door talks among EU leaders: many believe Hungary is creating a political obstacle to the accession process, while the European Commission continues to plan for Ukraine’s membership before 2030. Meanwhile, Ukraine is attempting to counter this with a new propaganda narrative.

Brussels does not consider it a strong argument that a significant proportion of Hungarians do not support Ukraine's EU membership, given that support for Hungary's accession was not high in the member states at the time, with some countries recording lower than 40 percent support. In addition, experience shows that if one member state halts the accession process of a candidate country over bilateral issues, it encourages other member states to put obstacles in the way of the accession process of either the same or other candidate countries.

From these background briefings, it has also emerged that Ukraine is deploying a new propaganda narrative against Hungary in its dealings with Europe.

As is known, Hungary has consistently stated it wants the rights enjoyed by the Hungarian minority in Ukraine prior to 2015 to be restored. Ukraine managed to convince Brussels of the the unjustified nature of Hungary's demand by reframing the issue: Ukraine communicates to Brussels that Hungary's demand of returning minority rights granted prior to 2015 is setting the restoration of "President Yanukovych's constitution" as a condition for Ukraine, arguing that a return to excessive minority rights protection would lead to the Balkanization of Ukraine and loss of its character as a unified nation-state. 

By dropping the name of Viktor Yanukovych, widely seen in Europe as a pro-Russia figure, Ukraine has managed to delegitimize Hungary’s demand for the restoration of the rights the ethnic Hungaran minority enjoyed for twenty-four years between 1991 and 2015 under the presidencies of Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma, and distinctly pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko preceding Yanukovych. Furthermore, they manage to sweep under the rug the fact that Hungary's demands concern the rights of the Hungarian minority, not changes to Ukraine's constitution.

Cover photo: European Commission headquarters in Brussels (Photo: AFP)