Hungary will not lobby for Ukraine’s accession to the EU – Szijjarto

Hungary, which will hold the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union from July 1, will lobby for Georgia and Moldova to join the EU, but not for Ukraine. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó said this on Tuesday, February 20, in Brussels, adding that the accession negotiations will focus on the “real performance” of the candidate countries, and not on “political pressure, ” reports the Hungarian publication Digi24.

“We will not allow the accession process of some countries to be artificially linked to the accession process of others. We will not allow the accession process of any of the best countries to become hostage to the process of countries that are lagging behind,” said Szijjártó.

He emphasized that there is no talk of Ukraine joining, because there is a war on its territory, and if it joins the EU, the conflict may be “imported”.

Szijjártó noted that the Hungarian presidency of the EU Council aims to “help Serbia to open new negotiation sections, Montenegro to close more sections, and Bosnia, Georgia and Moldova to start EU accession negotiations .”

“The EU needs new member countries that can bring prosperity, such as the countries of the Western Balkans, Georgia or Moldova,” the head of Hungarian diplomacy emphasized.

It was previously reported that a member of the European Parliament has initiated a petition to strip Hungary of its voting rights in the EU Council. The petition was supported by 120 MEPs from different political groups and several member states.