Viktor Orban Says Alleged Plan to Fast-Track Ukraine’s EU Membership Is ‘Declaration of War’

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has condemned an alleged European Union plan to accelerate Ukraine’s accession to the bloc, warning that such a move would amount to an open confrontation.

In a post on X on Feb. 10, Orban said the EU has “decided that Ukraine will be admitted to the Union as early as 2027.”

“This new plan is an open declaration of war against Hungary,” Orban said.

He said that Politico has “published Brussels’ and Kyiv’s latest war plan, the five-point Zelenskyy plan.”

“They disregard the decision of the Hungarian people and are determined to remove the Hungarian government by any means necessary,” he added.

In another post on X on Feb. 11, he said “admitting Ukraine would thrust Europe into war.”

“We do not oppose cooperation, but EU membership is the wrong path. Strategic partnership, not membership, is the responsible choice,” Orban said.

In a recent article, Politico, citing unnamed sources, claimed that the EU was devising a plan that would give Ukraine partial membership in the bloc and was working on ways around Orban’s veto.

The publication claimed that some European officials have floated ideas such as phased or partial integration, allowing Kyiv access to certain EU programs before full membership.

Orban accused EU institutions of wanting to push through enlargement plans without the consent of all member states, noting that EU accession requires unanimous approval.

Ukraine formally applied for EU membership in 2022, four days after the Russia–Ukraine war started in February.

Ukraine needs the backing of all 27 EU countries to become a member and faces a block on EU entry from Hungary, which has said it opposes Kyiv’s membership.

The European Council on Feb. 4 approved details of a 90 billion euro ($106 billion) loan for Ukraine to support the country’s budget and defense needs for 2026 and 2027.

The support loan will allocate two-thirds of the funding to military spending and one-third to general economic support, according to a European Council statement.

Cypriot Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said the agreement “shows that the EU continues to act decisively in support of Ukraine and its people.”

The European Council, which includes the leaders of the 27 EU member states, said in the statement that the loan will be repayable “only once Russia has paid war reparations to Ukraine.”

In December 2025, European leaders agreed to finance the loan through EU borrowing on their capital markets, backed by the EU budget, rather than use seized Russian assets frozen in the bloc.

“Europe keeps sending money to Ukraine with no real oversight, and now a corruption scandal reveals vast sums evaporating into thin air,” Orban said in 2025. “Yet some claim this is an argument for EU membership. Absurd.”

“Hungary’s position is crystal clear: if a country cannot even meet the basic standards, it is not ready for the EU,” he said in a Nov. 22 post on X.

Orban’s Fidesz party has ruled for 16 years and is facing the center-right Tisza party in Hungary’s April election.

According to a recent report by the European Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank, Tisza’s primary foreign policy goal “is to restore Hungary’s position as a reliable member of the EU.”

A spokesman for the European Commission did not address Orban’s comments directly and told The Epoch Times by email that “the discussions on a peace agreement are ongoing.”

“We can confirm that Ukraine’s future accession to the EU is part of these discussions, but we cannot prejudge their outcome,” the spokesman said.

He said that “Ukraine belongs to the European family.”

“We will continue working side-by-side with Ukrainian authorities, for the implementation of needed reforms towards the accession to the EU,” he added.

Guy Birchall and Victoria Friedman contributed to this report.