EU Commission wants to force Ukraine's accession ‘down our throats’: Hungarian premier

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Friday that the European Union Commission wants to force Ukraine’s EU accession without assessing the consequences.

''The European Union Commission didn’t do its homework. They want to shove Ukraine’s EU accession down our throats, without assessing the consequences for European taxpayers and farmers,” Orban said on a weekly radio program.

''This is nonsense! The Commission should go back to the drawing board. Ukraine’s EU accession shouldn’t even be on the agenda,'' said Orban.

Orban's chief of staff Gergely Gulyas said Thursday that Hungary will not support any European Union proposal to start negotiations on making Ukraine a member of the bloc.

Ukraine officially applied for EU membership on Feb. 28, 2022 -- four days after it was invaded by Russia in what Moscow calls a "special military operation."

The European Commission issued its opinion on the application of Ukraine's EU membership on June 17, 2022, after which the European Council granted Kyiv candidate status.

Last December, Ukraine's parliament adopted several bills recommended by the European Commission to further the country's EU accession process.