By KYIV. Dec 8 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that he still opposes the start of EU negotiations on Ukraine’s membership in the bloc, in particular, because of Kyiv’s problems with corruption.
“Ukraine is known as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. These [claims that Kyiv has fulfilled the conditions put forward by the EU] is a joke! We cannot make a decision on the start of the accession negotiation process,” Orban said in an interview with the French newspaper Le Point.
According to him, the European Commission’s report that four of the seven preconditions have been fulfilled by Kyiv is a “lie.”
“Hungary is a neighbor of Ukraine. And no matter what people in Paris, Brussels and The Hague think, we know better exactly what is happening in Ukraine,” the Prime Minister stressed.
He added that Ukraine’s accession to the EU would increase the burden on the EU budget, as well as have a very negative impact on the agricultural sector.
“Ukraine is a big country for which agriculture is a major area of the economy. If we allow these agricultural products to enter the European agricultural system, it will destroy our common system the very next day,” Orban said. “The consequences will be terrible,” he said.
When asked whether he is ready to demonstrate flexibility on a number of issues related to Ukraine if the European Commission unfreezes EUR 10 million intended for Hungary, Orban replied: “When a dilemma arises, I usually consider three categories: historical, strategic and tactical.”
“The Ukrainian issue is a historical issue on a large scale. The financial issue is a tactical one. My experience in politics for 40 years has taught me that you should never associate tactical issues like money with historical issues. If you do this, you run the risk of chaos. Therefore, I do not want to reach an agreement on the Ukrainian issue, but I am ready to do so on other issues,” he said.
Orban has recently made a number of statements calling on the EU not to take further steps towards Ukraine’s European integration before agreeing on a common strategy for Ukraine at the EU summit on December 14-15, threatening to block further aid to Kyiv and the process of its accession to the EU.
