Zelenskyy: Ukraine will join European Union, with or without Orbán
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine will become a member of the European Union regardless of the position of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
On Monday, 6 October, Zelenskyy expressed confidence that the Hungarian people support Ukraine in any case.
"Ukraine will be in the European Union, with or without Orbán, because that is the choice of the Ukrainian people," Zelenskyy emphasised, as quoted by Ukrinform.
Zelenskyy commented on the possibility of changing the rules of procedure so that a unanimous decision would not be required for EU enlargement.
"Changing the procedure means finding a way without [Hungary – ed.]. When the majority, all countries except Hungary, support Ukraine, they understand how it should be done," he said.
Zelenskyy also recalled that Ukraine had fulfilled all the technical requirements for opening the first cluster in the EU accession negotiations.
Orbán recently reiterated that Hungarians do not want to be in the same union as Ukrainians so as "not to share their fate" – and the fate of Ukrainians, as he said, is to be alongside Russia. The Hungarian prime minister also believes that Ukraine is not a sovereign state, as its bills are paid by the European Union.
Zelenskyy believes that Hungary's blocking of Ukraine's further movement towards the European Union is linked to domestic political reasons.
The European Commission says that opening clusters for Ukraine without Orbán's consent could be considered, but the decision must be made by EU member states.
Read also: Getting round Orbán: how to unblock Ukraine's road to the EU