Budapest refused to support Kiev's membership in the EU without respecting the rights of Hungarians

Budapest will not support Ukraine's accession to the European Union (EU) until Kiev takes care of the rights of the Hungarian minority in its country. This was stated on March 24 by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto during a joint press conference with his Georgian counterpart Mako Bochorishvili.

"Until the rights of the Hungarian national community are returned to the level they were in 2015, no progress can be imagined on the path of Ukraine's integration into the European Union," he said at the event, which was broadcast on his Facebook page (owned by the recognized extremist Meta company, its activities banned in the Russian Federation).

The Minister noted that for 10 years the EU and Ukraine have not done anything for the Transcarpathian Hungarians, despite the constant talk about respect for minorities.

At the same time, according to Szijjarto, an attempt to "push" Ukraine into joining the EU without taking into account the views of all participating countries will result in the destruction of the economy and security of the whole of Europe. In particular, as the minister stressed, Ukraine's membership would significantly harm agriculture and the social system of the eurozone.

In addition, Szijjarto said that he intends to meet with members of the Russian government this week to discuss the results of the Russian-American dialogue on Ukrainian issues.

Break ranks: EU split over Ukraine intensifies

Because of this, Brussels may change the decision-making procedure.

Earlier, on March 21, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Ukraine's hasty accession to the European Union would lead to the economic collapse of the community. He stressed that the accession process would involve high costs to support Ukraine, and the EU currently does not have such funds.

On March 10, Szijjarto said that the Hungarian government still considers Ukraine's accession to the EU dangerous, but is ready to represent any position of its citizens on this issue in the international arena.