Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wrote on X that Brussels and Kyiv had “openly declared war” on Hungary. The post appeared in response to a Politico article published the day before.
Politico, citing ten sources, writes that the European Union is developing a “reverse enlargement” plan for Ukraine. That is, it would first get a seat at the EU table, and then carry out the reforms necessary for full membership. The more necessary reforms Ukraine carries out, the more rights and obligations of EU membership will be opened up to it.
The described plan consists of five points. Three of them concern how to overcome Hungaryʼs veto:
- Wait for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to step down. Hungary will hold parliamentary elections in April, with the ruling “Fidesz” party trailing the main opposition party “Tisza”.
- If Orban remains prime minister, “play the card” of the US President Donald Trump. Orban and Trump have repeatedly expressed their favoritism for each other. Since EU accession is included in the draft 20-point peace plan between Russia and Ukraine, Trump may help his Hungarian partner to give in.
- If that doesnʼt work, invoke Article 7 of the EU Treaty (Maastracht Treaty). It provides for the suspension of certain rights of EU member states if their actions seriously violate the values of the Union. The EU does not plan to take such steps before the April elections, as this could play into Orbanʼs hands, but they are possible after April if he blocks Ukraineʼs accession efforts.
Orban wrote that his “Fidesz” party is the only thing standing between the state and the Brussels government to protect Hungaryʼs sovereignty. Meanwhile, his main opponent and leader of the “Tisza” party Peter Magyar wrote in X that the prime ministerʼs team may "leak" his intimate video. According to Magyar, many journalists today received links to the hidden camera video.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.