Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said in Brussels that despite the pressure that has been applied, the European Union's General Affairs Council did not decide on Tuesday on starting Ukraine's EU accession talks.
Speaking at a press conference after the council’s meeting, Minister Szijjártó said the talks had mainly focused on the European Commission’s enlargement package, adding that most member states had wanted there to be a decision on starting talks on Ukraine’s EU accession. But no such decision was made, with the council acknowledging the EC’s assessment, meaning that the decision will go before EU leaders at this week’s summit, Szijjártó said. He noted that Hungary’s stance on the matter was not a tactical one, arguing that the government believed the EU was not prepared to start a “well-structured accession process guaranteeing mutual benefits” with Ukraine. The minister said it was clear that the EC had “no clue” how Ukraine’s potential membership would affect the bloc and its member states. Meanwhile, Szijjártó said Hungary had succeeded in having planned steps against Serbia removed from the package, along with the planned freezing of community funds for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s autonomous Serb Republic and steps that would have rendered accession talks with North Macedonia impossible.