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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Friday that some “very long and difficult questions” still need to be answered before the European Union can start membership talks with Ukraine.
The European Commission, which is assessing Ukraine’s progress, is due to publish its annual enlargement package next month, and EU leaders are set to decide in December whether to open accession negotiations with Ukraine.
But Orbán told state radio the EU must decide whether it can “seriously consider” membership for a country that is currently at war, reported Reuters.
“We don’t know how big the territory of this country is, as the war is still ongoing, we don’t know how big its population is as they are fleeing,” Orbán said. “To admit a country to the EU without knowing its parameters, this would be unprecedented.”
The EU granted so-called candidate status to Ukraine last summer, kicking off an exhaustive procedure that could last many years. But Ukrainian leaders are hoping to speed up the process and join the EU within two years.
While it has condemned Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, Hungary has clashed with Ukraine multiple times, objecting to the EU’s attempt to set up a long-term fund of up to €20 billion for Ukraine’s military and criticizing Kyiv’s treatment of Hungarian minorities.
