Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said on Thursday that Brussels shifted into a higher gear this week. "They want to quickly push Ukraine into the European Union … and sacrifice the rights of Transcarpathian Hungarians," he said.
But "Brussels cannot make decisions above our heads," the minister said on Facebook, noting that the government has launched a referendum "so that the Hungarian people can decide about Ukraine's EU membership".
Meanwhile, he said Peter Magyar, the leader and MEP of the opposition Tisza Party, had not previously taken a position on Ukraine.
"Until now he has kept a low profile, but then came that phone call from Manfred Weber," head of the European People's Party, Minister Szijjártó said.
"Brussels has certainly instructed Magyar to show that Hungarians support Ukraine's EU membership," he added.
Minister Szijjártó said that Magyar would "fulfil the order at any cost, even if it involves fraud; we can take it for granted that this would be the result of their signature drive." That is why Magyar "would not wait" for the government's referendum in which "everybody, every Hungarian could vote," he added.