Media: Orbán gains unexpected allies in blocking Ukraine’s EU bid

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán may have unexpected support in his push to keep Ukraine out of the European Union — including from French President Emmanuel Macron, the latest report by POLITICO notes.

Ahead of an October 1 EU leaders’ gathering in Copenhagen, European Council President António Costa has been lobbying for rule changes to bypass Hungary’s veto on Ukraine and Moldova’s accession. Costa suggested that qualified majority voting, rather than unanimity, should be used for opening accession talks.

The proposal has divided member states. While Finnish President Alexander Stubb said he welcomed “any decision-making mechanism which gives more flexibility and less possibility to block … and never more so than with Ukraine,” several EU countries, including France, the Netherlands, and Greece, oppose it.

A French presidency official said, “If we had to change or evolve on the decision-making process, that would also have to be decided via unanimity, which does not seem to be possible today.”

Critics argue that giving up the veto would weaken their ability to block bids they oppose. Greece sees its veto as crucial to preventing Türkiye’s membership, Bulgaria wants to keep leverage over North Macedonia, and Croatia maintains objections to Serbia. “We’re not convinced at all by changing the rules of the game during the game,” said a senior EU diplomat.

Ukraine’s bid, strongly supported by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, remains stalled despite reforms in Kyiv. Moldova’s application is linked to Ukraine’s and faces the same roadblock. Both President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Moldovan President Maia Sandu have tied EU membership to their countries’ future outside Russia’s orbit.

Costa’s initiative has backing within the European Commission, which argues the current unanimous system — with more than 100 approval stages — is unworkable. But Orbán’s veto, combined with other leaders’ desire to preserve their own blocking power, makes consensus unlikely.

“Obviously, the Hungarians are blocking the Ukrainians,” one EU diplomat said. “But that’s not all. The Bulgarians want to block the Macedonians, the Croats, the Serbs, Greece and Cyprus don’t want Turkey to come any closer to the EU, and Greece also would want to keep an eye on Albania.”

In public, EU leaders may criticise Hungary’s stance on Ukraine, but privately, many see Orbán’s obstruction as a useful shield for their own national interests.

By Tamilla Hasanova