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🇱🇹 Lithuania /Elections & Politics

Magyar: Ukraine is not currently ready to join the European Union

From Delfi · () Lithuanian

Translated from Lithuanian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said Ukraine is not currently ready to join the European Union and should not receive an accelerated accession process.
  • Magyar said Hungary wants Ukraine to restore language, education and cultural rights for its Hungarian minority, but claimed it has seen no practical results.
  • He cited Serbia’s lengthy accession process as an argument against promises of rapid Ukrainian membership.

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar says Ukraine should not be fast-tracked into the European Union, arguing that accession must depend on measurable progress rather than political promises.

Speaking about Ukraine’s membership negotiations, Magyar said Hungary had secured an agreement on restoring language, education and cultural rights for the Hungarian minority. He said Budapest had demanded only basic rights, including the ability to use one’s native language, but added that the agreed deadlines had produced no visible results.

“We asked only for what belongs to every person: that they be able to use their language. Ukraine agreed to this and adopted an agreement with specific deadlines. So far, we do not see that anything has been done,” Magyar said.

We asked only for what belongs to every person: that they be able to use their language. Ukraine agreed to this and adopted an agreement with specific deadlines. So far, we do not see that anything has been done.

· Peter MagyarMagyar said Hungary had not seen implementation of an agreement on minority language rights.

He said Hungary’s position had not changed. The accession process, he argued, should be assessed according to Ukraine’s actual progress, with no exceptions or accelerated procedures. “Ukraine is a country at war and is clearly not ready to join the EU, regardless of what the EU or the leaders of member states promise Ukraine,” he said.

Magyar pointed to Serbia as an example of how lengthy the process can be. Serbia began its EU accession process 15 years ago but has completed only two of six negotiating stages, he said. He described unrealistic promises and politically motivated preferential treatment for individual countries as “a double game.” Ukraine began its first of six negotiating stages on June 15. In early July, Hungary allowed a sixth stage, covering external relations, to begin, marking the first major advance after a long period of opposition from Budapest.

Ukraine is a country at war and is clearly not ready to join the EU, regardless of what the EU or the leaders of member states promise Ukraine.

· Peter MagyarThe Hungarian prime minister argued against accelerated Ukrainian EU membership.
About this summary

Originally published by Delfi in Lithuanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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