Survey shows Hungarians do not want Ukraine to join the EU

Partial results of the National Consultation public survey indicate that 98 percent of respondents say Ukraine has not met the conditions for joining the EU, according to a government official.

Although forms are still being delivered and the deadline for returning questionnaires expires in a month’s time, “it is by now clear that many people are expressing their opinions”, and 280,000 questionnaires have been returned so far, Csaba Dömötör, state secretary of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office, said during a debate in parliament on Wednesday of a draft government resolution regarding Ukraine’s EU bid.

Normally results are made public after the consultation ends, he said, but an exception had been made in light of the “intense” debate over Ukrainian EU membership.

Fidesz MEP: EU divided on Ukraine EU accession

The European Union is not united on the issue of starting accession talks with Ukraine, Kinga Gál, an MEP of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz, said in Strasbourg on Wednesday. Gál told MTI that the decision on starting the talks had not been prepared adequately, and it was uncertain as to what sort of consequences the admission of a country of Ukraine’s size and in such an economic and political situation would have for the bloc. She said Ukraine’s EU membership would have serious consequences for Hungary.

Meanwhile, Gál said the EU had always emphasised uniform conditions when it came to enlargement policy.

“There is no progress being made on enlargement in the Western Balkans because those countries have not fulfilled all the conditions, but Ukraine hasn’t even fulfilled the seven conditions set by the EU for the start of accession talks,” the MEP said. “Despite this, the European Commission would be ready to start the talks.”

She said it was clear that Ukraine did not meet the criteria for starting the talks, not least because it had not resolved the issue of minority rights. She said the EU was applying double standards to Ukraine and had made a hasty decision under political pressure without seeking the opinion of the public.

“The EU would start accession talks with Ukraine without having devised any strategies or preparing an impact study,” Gál said. “Public opinion polls, for instance, show that most EU residents don’t support the start of accession talks with Ukraine at all.”

Read also:

• Viktor Orbán takes a tough stand against Ukraine’s accession to the EU

Source: MTI