“With the more than two million votes that were cast in Voks 2025, we stopped Ukraine’s EU accession,” stated Viktor Orban during in his weekly Kossuth Radio interview, this time from the Hungarian public media center in Brussels. The prime minister reported that despite enormous headwinds, he did not agree to the opening of the first negotiation chapter in Ukraine integration.

“EU leaders want Ukraine to become a member of the EU as soon as possible and are looking for ways to push the Hungarians aside,” he added. The prime minister indicated that Hungary wants to help Ukrainians, but in a way that does not ruin itself. He emphasized that the decisive argument is that Ukraine is at war, and accession would bring the war into the EU, thus onto Hungarian territory as well.
Their Goal: Admit Ukraine Now, Not in the Future
Viktor Orban explained that there is an intention to admit Ukraine into the EU now, not in some distant future, adding that we are talking about a direct threat.
According to the PM, prior to admitting a country, it is necessary to know its size, population, and legal system.
He stated that Ukraine, through no fault of its own, is an undefined entity. Orban explained there were similar problems with countries formerly in the Soviet bloc. At that time, the approach was to first admit the country into NATO, which ensured military security for the territory, and only then was EU membership granted since the EU is not a military alliance.
He also noted that this is not possible here because Ukraine is at war, and “the next day, we would be in World War III.” According to Viktor Orban,
this would bring the war into the EU.
The PM said that a country cannot be strung on indefinitely. Beyond a certain point, it is no longer possible to help. “We Hungarians speak honestly, while Brussels is deceiving Ukraine.”
The NATO Summit Was Easier
Orban indicated that the NATO summit was simpler because the Americans told everyone to forget about Ukraine’s accession, and with this move Hungary’s position became the majority within NATO.
The EU leadership is increasingly behaving like Moscow,
Viktor Orban remarked, adding that Manfred Weber and Ursula von der Leyen are sending messages to Hungary through the Tisza party and DK.
Ursula von der Leyen is showing signs of Brezhnevization,
the PM commented regarding the European Commission President’s message to the Hungarian people. He also highlighted that in the past, Hungary stood alone on the migration issue, but now everyone says what Hungary then said. He believes the same will happen regarding the war in Ukraine.