BUDAPEST, (AP) — Hungary’s prime minister said Saturday that Ukraine is “light years away” from joining the European Union, further signaling that his government is likely to present a roadblock to Kyiv’s ambitions to join the bloc.
Speaking at a biannual congress of his nationalist Fidesz party, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said he and his government would “resist” talks scheduled for mid-December on whether to formally invite Ukraine to start membership negotiations.
Admitting a new country requires unanimous approval from all existing member countries, giving Orbán a powerful veto.
At the party congress in Budapest on Saturday, he was reelected as the president of Fidesz for the 11th straight time since 2003. Orbán said afterward that standing in the way of Ukraine joining the EU would be one of his government’s top priorities in the coming months.
“Our task will be to correct the mistaken promise to start negotiations with Ukraine, since Ukraine is now light years away from the European Union,” Orbán said.
The EU’s executive commission earlier this month recommended beginning accession talks with…
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