Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has allowed talks to begin on Ukraine's accession to the European Union (EU), but has vowed to veto it if necessary.
EU leaders agreed on December 14 to open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova, after Mr Orban walked out of a European Council summit, allowing the remaining 26 member states to give the green light to the decision. Mr Orban has been one of the most vocal opponents of Kiev’s membership, arguing that Ukraine’s rampant corruption, dependence on foreign aid and involvement in an ongoing conflict would prevent Ukraine from joining the bloc.
During eight hours of debate, the leaders tried to convince Mr Orban, by pointing out that national parliaments in member states would have the final say on Ukraine's accession to the bloc, and that there would be around 75 instances where the Hungarian parliament would veto Ukraine's EU membership bid.
“They said that if something harms Hungary's interests during the negotiations, I can block it,” Prime Minister Orban explained.
The decision to open accession talks with Ukraine comes less than 18 months after Kiev applied to join. The pace of the process has been criticised by many member states, including Austria, where Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg warned last month that opening talks with Ukraine could alienate some Western Balkan countries that have been waiting for the accession process for 20 years.
In a related development, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters that Ukraine was still “very far away” from joining the bloc. “We are very far away from expanding the EU to Ukraine and in any case, any enlargement, whatever it may be, will require a profound reform of EU rules,” Macron said.
KHANH MINH
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