Orbán: Ukraine is corrupt, Hungary will not be mixed nation

Ukraine’s integration into the European Union “is extremely untimely”, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told the French weekly Le Point in an interview published on Friday. Orbán said accession was not being prepared adequately, and its structure did not ensure “it will bring in more than it costs”, Orbán said in a wide-ranging interview covering migration, NATO’s role, a joint European defence system and the EP elections.

Ukraine is one of the most corrupt countries in the world

Ukraine “is one of the most corrupt countries in the world and it is not ready for EU accession,” he said.

Hungary, as Ukraine’s neighbour, “knows exactly what’s going on there, no matter what they think in Paris, Brussels or the Hague,” Orbán said.

He rejected the charge that Hungary was vetoing EU initiatives. “Let’s just say we don’t consent to them.”

Ukraine’s EU membership would burden the other member states, which would have to pay more contributions, he said. France, he added, would have to contribute 3.5 billion euros more every year than they had done so far.

Folding in Ukrainian agriculture into the EU system would “ruin” the sector in other countries, he warned.

Orbán proposed establishing a strategic partnership with Ukraine, saying this would open possibilities to signing agreements on agriculture, tariffs and security.

“I agree with elevating cooperation, but not with membership,” he said.

Regarding the Hungarian minority in Europe, Orbán said minority rights were not up for negotiation. Ukraine must respect those rights, regardless of their accession plans, he said.

Also, the matter did not depend on whether the EU would pay the 10 billion euros it has been withholding from Hungary, Orbán said. “Technical issues such as finances must not be mixed up with historic challenges.”

He said more than two-thirds of Hungarians were opposed to starting accession talks with Ukraine – as was the country’s parliament.

Orbán noted he had never supported sanctions against Russia, “as it would be hard to find an example in European history when sanctions worked.”

Europeans “betrayed”

He insisted Europeans had been “betrayed” on the issue of badly phrased, badly implemented” sanctions.

“How do you explain that although Russia is under sanctions, the US has doubled its purchases of nuclear fuels? When we talk about sanctions, others – especially the US – circumvent them and conclude successful business deals.”

Asked about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Orbán said: “Russia is a different country in terms of its history, politics and geography . It can’t be compared with Europe . where freedom is one of the fundamental values.”

He said preserving unity, rather than freedom, was the key issue. “We can’t expect Russia to be like Europe,” he said.

“The question is whether our differences stop us from cooperating,” he said, adding that such logic would make cooperation impossible “with two-thirds of the planet”. “Russia is here and it’s strong,” he said.

Orbán said that as he grew up in a communist country he had experienced a “dichotomy” that put the West on the one side and the Soviet Union on the other. He said he wanted to avoid a resurgence of an approach of “us against the world”.

Hungary will not support mixing cultures

Concerning migration, the prime minister said: “Hungarians may not necessarily follow the examples of other countries such as France. We cannot be fully assured that mixing cultures will be any better than our traditional society,” he said.

Put to him that he could help the Italian government handle illegal migration, Orbán said he was “trying to be as helpful as possible” but the European Union’s new migration pact “simply went in the wrong direction”.