Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban continues to strongly oppose Ukraine's accession negotiations to the European Union, arguing that the country is rife with corruption and poses a threat to European agriculture.
“Ukraine is considered one of the most corrupt countries in the world. It's a joke! “We cannot make the decision to start an accession negotiation process,” Mr. Orban argued in an interview with the weekly Le Point published on Friday, days before a European Council that must address the issue.
He also warned the French about “what this accession would mean economically for France.”
“Every year you have to pay more than 3.5 billion euros additional into the Union’s common budget,” he says.
And to emphasize the importance of Ukrainian agriculture. “If you let this agriculture invade the European agricultural system, it will destroy it the next day,” he assures.
The prime minister, who met French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday evening, also explains that his position is inflexible since “more than two-thirds of Hungarian public opinion is against the start of any negotiations.”
But “Ukraine is in trouble,” he admits, because “it is suffering from the Russian invasion” and it is “legitimate that the entire European Council sends good signals (to it),” such as a “strategic partnership” with the Ukraine EU instead of negotiations about membership.
“If we manage (…) to bring Ukraine closer to Europe in a few years, we will see,” he confided before his interview with Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, to which the Élysée did not comment.
Viktor Orban also returned to the asylum reform currently being discussed in the EU.
It “may be better than the previous one, but it is not a solution,” he believes. “The ultimate solution is that no one can enter European territory without obtaining authorization from an authority based on a procedure.”
“I am the only one who built a fence,” boasts the Hungarian prime minister. There are no migrants in Hungary and I’m proud of that.”
He added: “If you think that welcoming migrants would lead to something pleasant, to a new society, to something morally higher than traditional society, then do it.” It's your choice. But we Hungarians think that is too risky.