Brussels would apply ‘manual control’ over Ukraine, says Orbán cabinet
Should Ukraine join the European Union, Brussels would “control it manually”, the minister of EU affairs said on public radio on Thursday.
János Bóka said Ukraine would be an EU member “relying on money transfers from Brussels for day-to-day survival”. “Ukraine is currently in a state of selective bankruptcy … unable to obtain market loans, partially making its debt service payments and needing support to ensure daily operation of its state machinery,” the minister said. The country needs an estimated 50 billion euros in external financing a year “to meet at least some criteria of statehood”, Bóka said.
While the EU had made a political decision to ensure Ukraine’s accession by around 2030, he said, nobody considered whether the country met the accession criteria, and “if somebody asks those questions they will immediately be a target of appalling political attacks”.
“It is, therefore, important that Hungary receives political support from voters so that it can represent the national interest,” the minister said, referring to the government’s referendum on the subject.
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