Hungary's Fidesz Calls On Orban To Block Ukraine Accession Talks @ EUCO

Hungary's ruling populist Fidesz Party has formally stated that it opposes the prospective opening of EU accession talks with Ukraine, and has submitted a resolution saying as much to the National Assembly. Fidesz states that the European Commission's proposal to open accession talks is not properly prepared, and calls on the gov't of PM Viktor Orban to represent this view in the upcoming 14-15 Dec EUCO summit when it comes to decisions on Ukraine's accession process.

• Orban has previously voiced his objections to officially starting accession talks with Ukraine, with some speculating that the stance is intended to force the EU into unfreezing billions in structural and COVID relief funding that had been blocked due to rule of law concerns.
• EU Observer raises the prospect, though, that those countries outwardly supportive of Ukrainian accession but privately concerned about the impact of EU enlargement can 'hide behind' Orban's stance. "The prospect of another wave of enlargement has prompted debate on what internal EU changes would need to be made to accommodate several poor, and in Ukraine's case, large, new members.[...] Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Slovakia are also more wary of opening the door to Ukraine than they admit in public, diplomatic sources said. And all this meant that an Orbán-veto drama might prove useful to different EU leaders in the run-up to the pre-Christmas summit "moment of truth", an EU diplomat said."