The prime minister has blasted the EU’s reported plan to make Ukraine a member in spite of Budapest’s objections
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Budapest, January 5, 2026. © Janos Kummer / Getty Images
Brussels and Kiev have declared war on Budapest, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said. His comments come amid reports that the EU is seeking to offer Ukraine a form of 'membership lite,’ despite the opposition of certain member states.
According
to Politico, EU officials want to relax admission criteria and offer
Kiev limited privileges in a membership offer scheduled for 2027. Orban
has been identified as the main obstacle to the controversial move, with
sources suggesting he must be removed in Hungary's forthcoming
election, whether through foreign pressure or EU procedures suspending
Budapest’s voting rights.
“This new plan is an open declaration of war against Hungary. They disregard the decision of the Hungarian people and are determined to remove the Hungarian government by any means necessary,” Orban wrote on X on Wednesday.
He
urged supporters to mobilize for his Fidesz party ahead of April’s
parliamentary election, which Politico called a potential opportunity
for Brussels to neutralize its long-time critic.
Kiev
seeks to pursue EU accession as early as next year as part of a
US-mediated peace deal with Russia. While Vladimir Zelensky has publicly
rejected second-tier membership, Politico reports that Ukrainian
officials have privately expressed interest.
Orban’s government
says Brussels’ support for Kiev draws the EU closer to direct war with
Russia and ignores Ukraine’s failure to meet requirements for
candidates.
Zelensky has repeatedly attacked Orban for refusing to back
Kiev, suggesting he is ‘pro-Russian.’ Last month, at the World Economic
Forum, he suggested the Hungarian leader should be “smacked” for allegedly selling out EU interests. Orban has called such remarks election interference.