Ukraine’s EU accession: Zelenskyy names key obstacle
Zelenskyy outlines two ways to bypass Orban’s stance and secure Ukraine’s path to the EU.
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Zelenskyy and Orban, archive photo
The primary obstacle to Ukraine’s EU accession is the unconstructive stance of Hungary and its leader, Viktor Orban.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made these remarks in a conversation with journalists.
He assured that the majority of European partners—26 countries—support Ukraine’s EU membership.
“At the critical moment of voting, 26 countries will be on our side. That’s the situation today. Hungary is not on our side. The only reason is the upcoming elections in Hungary. The European Union is the main trigger for the current prime minister’s election campaign in Hungary,” Zelenskyy says.
According to him, Orban is building his election campaign on criticism of the EU.
“Ukraine is one of the main, if not the primary, tools for him to boost his party’s ratings by blocking Ukraine’s progress,” the President stated.
Solutions for Ukraine
Zelenskyy sees several ways out of this situation.
“One is changing the rules. Changing the rules is being discussed in EU corridors. A majority-based decision-making process is something we need to move toward. For instance, I recently met with the Dutch prime minister, and this was one of the key topics we discussed. Europeans are conservative about changing rules. This doesn’t only concern us; it will raise many issues and challenges, but in the long term, it would be the right decision. That’s my view. The second option is for partners to use other levers to influence the Hungarian prime minister’s position. There’s no other way for now. Together with the EU, we believe that by the end of this year, Ukraine will be ready with six completed clusters,” Zelenskyy concluded.