Hungary sets conditions for supporting Ukraine's EU membership

We are holding talks with the Ukrainian authorities regarding the country's membership in the European Union, and the Hungarian government has outlined its minimum expectations for supporting this accession - announced the head of the Hungarian Prime Minister's Office, Gergely Gulyás.

The Hungarian presidency in the EU Council and Ukraine's accession to the EU have nothing to do with each other - indicated the head of the Hungarian Prime Minister's Office at a Thursday press conference.

He emphasized that the decision on accession must be made unanimously; therefore, it does not matter who holds the presidency in the EU Council at any given moment.

Gulyás did not provide detailed information on the conditions necessary for Hungary to support Ukraine's accession. However, for a long time, the Hungarian government has been demanding the restoration of language rights for the approximately 100,000-strong Hungarian minority living in the Ukrainian Transcarpathia.

Hungary openly claims that Ukraine should not join the EU. At the end of last year, however, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán did not formally block the start of accession negotiations.

At the beginning of May, the Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó stated that one of the priorities of the Hungarian presidency in the EU commencing on 1 July would be accelerating the enlargement of the Community.

Hungary would like a faster accession process for the Balkan states, Georgia and Moldova, but criticizes the start of negotiations with Ukraine. The quick accession of the latter country is not in the interest of Hungary or the EU, Prime Minister Orbán said in mid-December.